


Spellbound

by soosuxx



Category: SOTUS - All Media Types, พี่ว้ากตัวร้ายกับนายปีหนึ่ง | SOTUS: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, M/M, kongart are roommates, kongpob will fall for another guy, sad but it means we are gonna get jealous arthit :3, slowburn idiots to lovers, whO KNOWS!!!!, will it be another guy with the face of tay tawan?, will it be tew?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2020-06-23 23:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 41,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19711612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soosuxx/pseuds/soosuxx
Summary: Kongpob, an unwilling witch, meets his constant.





	1. New Normal

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, all!
> 
> I'm back with a new chaptered fic! I was actually writing another story, a more serious one, but I decided serious stories ain't for me, so here I am with another light story.
> 
> Like Kiss the Boy, this one has a touch of fantasy. Hopefully, I can make it longer this time. :3 I can't promise the updates would be regular because I just got promoted at work (yay!), so I am quite busy right now, but still, I will do my best to update as soon as I have chapters ready.
> 
> This story is inspired by crimsonfool's witch!kongpob AU and by Sakurada Yana's My Weird Roommate. As always, the base plot and the SOTUS characters are credited to Bittersweet.
> 
> Thank you, all, for being patient. I hope you'd like it!
> 
> All the best,  
> soosuxx

Arthit is surprised when he opens the door of his dorm room. He checks the door number, and it's the same room he had during his first two years in university. His things are even there.

But why are there two beds?

He sets his bags at the foot of one of the beds and goes straight downstairs to the landlady. He's tired from his travel from his home in Bang Kruai, but he needs this sorted out.

"P', why are there two beds in my room?"

The landlady lifts his head from the papers she's so busy at. "Oh, didn't you get my text? You will share the room starting this year."

Arthit's jaw falls, and it remains fallen until the landlady speaks again.

"Your unit isn't a private room, nong. You should be thankful that you had it all for yourself for two years. But now, all the rooms are occupied, so we had to divide your rooms to accommodate new occupants."

Arthit isn't able to let out any other response other than a nod. He starts stepping back to his room slowly. 

Good thing he went back to Bangkok a week before the start of classes. He still has several days to cherish his room alone.

When he gets back to his room, he flops his body on one of the beds, wondering if he should occupy it. Or maybe he should occupy the other one closer to the windows?

"Arggh!"

He hates that he has to make such a crucial decision right at the moment.

"Why now?!"

Yes, why now?

Arthit is on his third year, and he was chosen to be the head hazer. It has been planned since his first year. Never he imagined he would actually take the role, but here he is.

Now, he needs the unapproachable character, the intimidating aura so the freshmen would respect him.

He practiced it every day at home, being stiff and always shouting, though his mother just laughed at him every time.

"It's so fake, son. That's not you," she said one time. But he didn't care. It's not his mother whom she's going to intimidate. It's the freshmen.

But now, his new roommate will most likely be a freshman.

This won't be good.

He thought he only needs to act tough inside the campus, but now, he needs to do it even inside his room.

Arthit makes an annoyed face. This time, it doesn't look fake. It's really scary. His new roommate is lucky he isn't with him yet.

He doesn't move for a good couple of minutes. He hasn't even unpacked his bag yet. He's about to doze off when his phone alerts him of a text.

It's Namtarn.

Arthit closes his eyes and breathes in deeply, throwing his phone away without opening his friend's text. He will deal with Namtarn later. For now, he just wants to rest and enjoy the remaining days of his privacy.

~

"Here's my dorm, Kong," Em tells his best friend as the car stops in front of a lowrise building. He's an incoming freshman, and like his best friend, he will be taking Engineering.

Kongpob lowers his head to survey the distance between the Em's dorm and his. His building is two blocks away. He pats Em's shoulder before bidding goodbye, promising to meet tonight for dinner.

"Thanks for the ride, auntie," Em tells Kongpob's mother before he gets off the car.

"Of course. Take care."

Em takes more of his bags from the trunk and waves for the final time before getting inside his dorm.

"You and Em should've stayed in one dorm," Kongpob's mother tells him as the car starts moving again.

"The dorms are all full."

"I know that. I'm just worried about you."

"I can handle it, mae. Don't worry."

They reach the driveway of Kongpob's dorm after a short moment. It's significantly larger than Em's dorm.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you?"

Kongpob nods. "I need to learn to take care of things by myself."

His mother smiles and ruffles his hair. Her son grew so well. "Listen, if something happens, call me. No buts."

"Okay, mae."

They share a hug before Kongpob gets all his things. His mother waves her hand for the final time before driving away, worried about leaving her son on his own.

Kongpob's feet take him a few more steps the building's lobby. It has a reception area, though it's empty. He grabs his phone from his pocket to check his room number as he waits for the receptionist.

It took more than five minutes for the person in the reception area to show up.

"Are you the new tenant?" she asks.

"Yes, khun," Kongpob responds, showing his ID.

"No need for that. Here's your key. Your unit is on the third floor. Fourth door from the stairs."

"Thanks, khun."

"And oh, your roommate is there."

~

Arthit haven't realized he dozed off and fell into a comfortable sleep until a loud bang woke him up.

He opens his eyes to search for what cut his afternoon nap, which is unnecessary since it's right there in front of him.

A tall guy is facing him, holding a huge box, in an awkward posture. The thing that woke him up is on the floor, two fallen boxes, probably containing the things of the tall person.

"Sorry for waking you up," the tall guy shyly says.

It must be his new roommate. Arthit makes a face when he realizes his week alone is now gone. Eyeing the guy from head to toe, Arthit is convinced that he already dislikes him.

Too skinny.

Annoying face.

Smells nice.

Seems a rich kid.

Arthit is unknowingly shooting stares at the tall person, while the latter doesn't know what to do.

He shakes his head to wake himself more and sits up, fixing his hair, ignoring the other's apology. The newcomer is still looking at him, so he gives him a raised eyebrow.

That should send him the message that he's not a friendly roommate.

But Kongpob, of course, still tries.

"I'm Kongpob, your new roommate," the guy named Kongpob tells him, setting the remaining box down to offer a handshake.

Arthit ignores it and gives Kongpob a single nod instead. "That's gonna be your bed." His first words to his new roommate are delivered in a flat tone.

"I know. You already used the other one," Kongpob answers, too cheerfully.

Forget his dislike. Arthit now hates the guy.

He avoids eye contact and stands up to walk to the unit's porch to get some air, leaving Kongpob inside waiting for at least a hint of niceness.

"Why does he have so many things?" he asks himself after glancing back inside. He's right to question the other, though. Aside from the three boxes he saw, Kongpob brought in three large bags.

There's also a medium-sized wooden box.

"What a weirdo."

Kongpob notices his roommate is looking at him, so as a final attempt of being cordial, he beams him a smile...

...which Arthit ignores again.

That should give him the idea. Kongpob lets out a deep sigh before whispering to himself...

"Welcome to college."

~

"How's your new roommate?" Em asks while they are in a diner.

"I think he hates me," Kongpob answers.

"Hate you already? Why?"

"I just feel it. I am not welcome. The landlady said he was alone in that room for two years, so maybe he just doesn't want to share it."

"Well, he should've gotten a solo room."

"I don't know, Em. If he doesn't like me, I don't like him either."

Em accepts it as a reasonable idea, so he ends the conversation and takes another bite at his crepe.

~

Kongpob stayed at Aim's dorm until it's late. He didn't want to feel the awkwardness of staying in the room he's not welcome in.

However, he needed to go back before the curfew at Aim's dorm, so he's now facing the door of his new home.

He inserts his key, but he notices the door is unlocked. His roommate is inside. Making as little sound as possible, he pushes the door, letting the light in from the corridor. Arthit, being in the dark room, notices his arrival. He's on his bed, playing with his phone.

The sight of Kongpob makes Arthit realize he needs to go, only partly because his roommate is now here, primarily because he still hasn't eaten yet.

He gets off the bed, goes to his drawer, and pulls out a longer pair of shorts. He wears it as Kongpob sets himself on the bed.

Arthit's about to storm off when he hears his roommate's voice.

"Please bring a key. I'm not comfortable leaving the door unlocked."

Arthit glances at him. It results in a short staring contest, which Arthit ends by rolling his eyes. He returns to his bedside, which got relocated to accommodate the other bed, and takes his keys with him.

Before leaving, he locks his cabinet and each of his lockable drawers. Speeding up his steps, he gets out of the room and closes the door. He plans to return when he's sure the other is already asleep.

Inside the room, Kongpob shakes his head at his luck for the kind of roommate that he got.

He's rude. He doesn't talk. He shows he doesn't like him. And he's irresponsible for leaving the door unlocked.

And why does want the room dark?

Kongpob flicks the switch on, lighting up the room. It's just now that he's alone in it, so he takes the opportunity to examine the place.

It's a spacious room, definitely for two. His bed is new, and he thinks the other might be as well. There are marks on the floor that suggest that a larger bed was placed on it.

No wonder Arthit is so irritated at him.

Kongpob thinks Arthit will not return for a while, so he steps into "his" side of the room. There are posters of rock bands on his wall, and there are mangas stacked under the bedside table. A display cabinet contains robots, which make Kongpob smile.

At least, he and his roommate have something in common.

Kongpob continues his sight-seeing and musings on his bed. He gets his phone and texts his parents that he's already settled in his room, leaving out the detail that he's assigned to a rude roommate.

He lets out a deep sigh. It's just his first day with him anyway, and lots of things can happen. His dealings with his new roommate can improve eventually.

That's possible, he thinks, as long as he doesn't discover his secret.

~

Arthit does what he has planned and stays out longer than usual. After dinner, he walks around the compound, visiting his friends' dorm buildings despite knowing they aren't there. When his feet bring him farther, somewhere outside the university compound, is when he decides to go back.

When he returns, he tries to turn his door's knob in an attempt to open it, completely forgetting that he locked it. He's used to leaving it unlocked. No one else is in the dorm anyway.

But now, he has to adjust.

He clicks his tongue and grabs the keys in his pocket before carefully opening the door. 

He's right. His roommate is already asleep.

He slows down his movements so as not to wake him. An unconscious roommate is better than a conscious one, he thinks.

He does his nightly routine in the quietest manner he can. After drying his hair, he goes straight to his bed. He makes sure his phone has no alarm set because he wants to spend more time resting.

Now on his bed, he has another crucial decision to make. 

He has the choice to face the wall or to face the rest of the room, though the latter also means facing his roommate. Not trusting his back facing the other person in the room, but also not wanting him to be the last thing he sees before sleeping, he chooses to lie on his back instead.

Almost ready to slumber, he stretches his body, legs tired because of his long walk. It looks like he will do it for the rest of the week, or at least until one of his friends return to the campus.

He turns his head towards his roommate. A week with a stranger seems awful. But he has no choice. He will live with him the entire semester, at least. He might even stay until Arthit's last year.

Accepting his defeat, he decides to just go with it. He can't do anything anyway. 

Sleep is starting to take him when a source of light catches his attention. He looks back at the window, but it isn't it. The curtains are still drawn closed. It's not his phone either.

His eyes trail on the source of the light. It's just a faint light, but it's like it's glowing. And the trail leads him to under his roommate's bed.

Curious, Arthit sits up, stares at what's under the bed, and recognizes the wooden box he saw earlier as the source of the light.

The lid of the box is like breathing, light escaping from it, and it grows brighter by the second.

Arthit has no idea what it is. But he starts to feel fear.

"Uhm..." He wants to wake up his roommate, but he forgot his name. Why didn't he pay attention when he introduced himself?

"Ko–Korn Kob?"

Arthit is sure it isn't his name, but he doesn't have the time to think of the correct one now as the box starts to shake. 

He doesn't know what to do.

"Aaah!" he yells as the lid of the box opens wide, illuminating the whole room, blinding him. 


	2. Evil Eye

  
  
  
  
  
When Arthit opens his eyes, he gets greeted by the already high sun, light getting in through the window. He closes them back again, not wanting to move or even do anything. His head hurts. His leg muscles are still sore.

But then he remembers what happened last night.

He quickly sits up, disregarding the pain in his head. His roommate is not in the room. That's when he fixes his attention to the wooden box under his roommate's bed, fear slowly creeping in him again.

Forcing his legs to move, he takes a step towards it. He's sure it lit up last night. He's sure it did something. But now, he's just holding at a rather old simple wooden box.

He's about to open it when he hears the door clicking. Immediately, he puts the box back to its place and steps back to drop his body on his bed.

His roommate finds him doing nothing, but Arthit is really bad at acting. He tells himself not to look at the box, but that's where his eyes land.

"Good morning," his roommate greets him.

Arthit looks at him, brows furrowed. "Morning."

Kongpob feels light that he received a response this time. Judging from their encounters the previous day, he thought his roommate wouldn't talk to him until the semester ends. "I still don't know your name."

Arthit gives him another look. Of course, he needs to tell him his name. He mutters "Arthit" after he sighs. "I'm Arthit."

Kongpob smiles. "I thought you wouldn't talk to me forever."

"You know my name..." Arthit gives him another of his hostile looks. "...but let me get this straight: I'm not your friend."

"I..." Kongpob is taken aback. Is he really this blunt? "I know that," he answers, not wanting to argue with him.

"Also, it looks like you're a freshman," Arthit says after examining him from head to toe. "Are you a freshman?"

Kongpob nods.

"Then, call me P'."

"You're older than me? I—"

"What?"

"I thought you're a freshman too, because—"

"Because what?"

"—because you look youthful." Kongpob wears his serious face when he says it.

Arthit, on the other hand, doesn't know how to respond. Is that a compliment? How does he even respond to a compliment?

He smirks at Kongpob, disguising it as a response.

Kongpob, as expected, doesn't know what it means, so he changes the topic instead. "I already had my breakfast downstairs. Sorry if I didn't wait—"

"We don't have to eat together."

"Of course." Kongpob bites his lips. He's had enough in today's attempt at being cordial. He just gives him a nod and turns around, ready to leave the room again.

"Wait," Arthit says, voice urgent.

Kongpob faces him again. He's afraid he's going to ask about what happened the previous night.

"What happened to your box?"

Kongpob's right to be afraid. But he already planned about this over breakfast. He thought of it while ignoring Em's complaints about his dorm.

"What do you mean?" Kongpob asks.

"Your box, that one." Arthit points at it. "It glowed last night. I am sure it knocked me off and—"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"I'm telling you, it was glowing last night!"

"It wasn't." Kongpob crosses his arms as a part of the script. "But you were dreaming last night."

"I was?"

"You were shouting about something being bright. You were covering your eyes. Then, you screamed." Kongpob's head nods as he tells his make-believe story.

"I did?" Arthit blinks repeatedly. It's possible that he was dreaming. It's actually more possible than having a wooden box glow. Maybe it really was a dream. Maybe that's why he can't remember everything after that.

Kongpob nods again confidently.

Arthit avoids his eyes and lies on his back. If it were a dream, he made a fool of himself just now and last night. "Did you laugh at me?"

"What?" Kongpob reacts. "Why would I do that?"

"I knew you laughed at me while I was dreaming!"

"I didn't! I'm not a bad person like you think!"

"Aaargh! Whatever!" Arthit stands up and leaves Kongpob as he heads to the restroom.

Kongpob sighs. He thought his dealing with his roommate would improve, but now, he's back to being rude.

However, at least, he believed his lie.

Kongpob kneels at the foot of his bed and pulls the wooden box towards him. Now, he just needs to figure out why it glowed last night.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


~

"Now what?" Arthit asks himself after leaving his dorm. He has a week to spend all by himself, and he can't do it in his room because, according to him, someone else is there, disregarding the fact that someone will be with him for at least a few months and that he needs to be friendly or at least not rude to him.

That someone also seems strange to him. Arthit believed what he told him about the box not lighting up, about him only dreaming. But his gut's telling him not to. He can't explain it, but there's something with him.

Giving up trying to rationalize his skeptic thoughts, he grabs his phone and tries to get in contact with his friends. But based on their group chat, it looks like none of them are planning to go back to the university compound until the weekend.

With nothing else to do, he drops by the neighborhood bingsu place and wastes some time there, enjoying the pink milk-flavored bingsu he craved for the entire summer break.

He's in the middle of a mobile game when someone sits in front of him.

"Why aren't you replying to my texts, Oon?"

It's Namtarn.

Arthit's eyes roam around the place, doing his best not to look at his friend. He's obviously not expecting her.

"Oon?"

"Uh." There's a pause. He exits his game and rests his phone on the table. "There's a thing in my dorm."

"Thing?"

"I mean, a guy." Namtarn still has this effect on him.

"A guy?"

"I have a new roommate."

Namtarn's face is blank. She can't understand what the guy has to do with Arthit not replying to her texts.

"I mean, the new roommate, I..." Arthit can't think of anything. "... helped him move his things."

Lie.

"That's why I wasn't able to reply to you."

Her face remains the same.

"Sorry."

Namtarn sighs. "It's okay. You're here anyway, so let's talk about it here."

Arthit has no choice. He can't just ignore Namtarn like how he ignores her texts. "Okay."

"So... what do you think?"

Namtarn had asked Arthit to come with her and Jay to a private resort. She told him she wants to spend more time with her high school friends, though it really just means spending more time with Arthit since Jay is her boyfriend and she's with him all the time.

"I don't know, Namtarn."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"It's too early to decide. The school year hasn't started... and I'm the head hazer this year. I just... I have a lot in my hands.

Those reasons are valid, but they are Arthit's real reasons.

Namtarn pouts. "I understand."

Arthit takes a scoop from his melted bingsu for lack of any response to give.

"I will make sure to ask you again, though!" Namtarn reminds him.

He fakes a smile. "Okay."

There's silence after that. Arthit tries to offer his dessert to Namtarn, but she declines it, knowing Arthit will kill for every scoop of it. She just stares at her friend, wondering why he started to drift away from them. Then, she noticed it.

"Hey, Oon?"

"Yes?"

"Uhm..."

"What is it, Namtarn?"

"What happened to your eyes?"

"What do you mean?" Arthit takes his phone and opens its front camera to check his eyes, thinking he has dirt on his face.

Namtarn recognizes something, but she later shakes her head.   
  
  


"Nevermind."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


~

"Mae, it glowed last night. I am sure of it!" Kongpob is talking to his mother on the phone.

"..."

"Yeah, he saw it too. But I made a lie. Good thing he believed it. Don't worry about him."

"..."

"Yes, yes. But I need to know why it happened! What if it happens again?"

"..."

"Yes, maybe."

"..."

Kongpob sighs. "Alright."

"..."

"Bye, mae."

"..."

"Yes, I will be more careful next time."

Kongpob ends the call without any answer to his question. He thought his mother would know it, but she also doesn't have any idea.

His phone bounces on his bed when he throws it after checking the time. It's still early. If his theory is true that his roommate is still avoiding him, he won't come back until 9 PM.

After making sure the door is locked, he kneels on the floor, pulls the wooden box, and opens it to investigate.

The box was from his mother, technically from his grandmother. It contains a black book with golden edges, four different kinds of candles, a rabbit's foot, and several bottles of things he doesn't know of (dried tail of newt, agrimony, barberry bark, and other dried herbs). He didn't want to bring them, but his grandmother insisted that he should bring all of them for a rainy day. 

Under the cover of the box, there's an amulet. It's metal plated with a golden gem in the center.

This item is Kongpob's prime suspect for the bright light the previous night.

But why would it glow like that?

Kongpob remembers his grandmother told him it's for his protection, like everything else in the box.

But for what?

The only one he thinks he needs protection from is his rude roommate.

He grabs the black book from the box and places it on his bed. Then, he shuts the box's lid close before pushing it further under his bed. Maybe he should buy a padlock just in case what transpired last night happens again.

Standing from his position on the floor, he flops himself on the bed and opens the book, in hopes of finding an answer to his question.

Just like the rest of the items in the box, the book was from his grandmother. He was told that it was passed through their family, his maternal side, generation to generation. But for some reason, not a time in her mother's life that she owned it.

But him, he does own it now.

He lets out a heavy sigh.

He's about to start college, so anything about this should be sorted out. He actually doesn't want to deal with it. But he is left with no other choice.

He has spent his entire summer vacation worrying about it. His mother and grandmother told him not to, that they would help him, that there's nothing to worry about. He kind of believed them.

But now that it seems like things are starting to happen, he doesn't know if he should still not worry.

He closes the book loudly as he finds nothing helpful in it. It's all spells and charms and hexes and curses, but he doesn't want anything to do with those.  
  


He doesn't want to be a witch.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kind of decided(?) to update this story every friday. hopefully, i can stick to that :3
> 
> happy weekend, guys!


	3. It Isn't Easy Being a Witch

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It had started small and easy to ignore.

Sometimes, as a child, a bit of frustration or excitement would find its way into reality: a falling object here, a burst of light there.

These moments started out few and far between. And whenever his mother noticed, she never said a word.

Regardless, Kongpob lived his life as normal. He stepped into primary school and high school, and he never really stopped to question the oddness that seemed to follow him everywhere he went. It was the sort of thing that an inexperienced boy views as normal without any frame of reference.

But the small things grew into something he and his mother could not ignore.

The day was perfect for Kongpob to take a rest. He already finished collating all the requirements for his university application, making himself almost entirely free for the rest of his summer vacation.

So he did what he wouldn't be able to do once he steps into college: staying in bed until noon.

"Son, you already skipped your breakfast," his mother told him when she got up to his room. "Come, join me for lunch."

Kongpob lost track of the time and was surprised to be informed it's lunch time already. Suddenly feeling the emptiness in uis stomach, he obliged and followed his mother to the kitchen; he wouldn't be able to say no to her, anyway.

They set up their lunch there, preferring to eat at the kitchen counter than at the dining table in the next room.

"So tell me, have you decided?" Mrs. Suthilak asked him. It's about the major he was going to take.

"I'm..." He took a deep breath. He stalled on it for weeks now, and so he thinks it's now or never. "I know you and por wants me to take Economics, but–"

"It's okay, son. I already talked your father out of it," his mother said nonchalantly.

"You did?"

She nodded, though she noticed his son scratching his left palm. "Yes... yes." It took her aback, but she chose to ignore it, like she always did. "When we suggested it, I had the feeling you wouldn't like it. Last night, I told him to let you decide. It would be for your future anyway."

Kongpob felt warm, warm and surprised. He initially thought his mother would help his father convince him. "Thanks, mae. And what did he say?"

His mother smiled at him. "Did you really think your father would say no to me?"

He can't, just like how Kongpob wouldn't be able to say no to her. Kongpob chuckled, still scratching his palm. "Thanks again, mae."

"But you still have to talk to your father."

"I will."

They continued their lunch talking about Kongpob's plans, different from how he imagined the conversation would be.

"Engineering?"

"Yes, mae."

"What kind?"

"I'm considering Industrial."

His mother nodded as she sliced a piece of meatball.

"So that I can still help in por's company," Kongpob continued.

"Son, do you want cream for that?" She was referring to Kongpob's itchy palm. He'd been scratching it the entire time. She was so good at not minding the signs, but this one's hard to ignore.

"I'll put some later."

"Yes, you should."

After their lunch, Mrs. Suthilak asked her son to go back to his room to shower so he could apply cream after, which he obliged after fixing his plates in the sink

Kongpob's mother waited for a few minutes, until she's sure Kongpob's in the shower, before she grabbed her phone. She then dialed her mother's home number.

"Mae, it's me."

There's a pause. 

"I think it's happening."   
  
  
  
  


~

The Suthilaks were rich, and their wealth reflected in their house. Their family's plastic business thrived and was still thriving, so Mr. and Mrs. Suthilak managed to build a big house before their third child was born.

Their backyard was overlooking a stream that went its way to the Chao Phraya River, which flowed into central Bangkok. Each of their children's rooms had its own bathroom, aside from those on each floor.

Ready to take a shower, Kongpob shed his clothes as he entered his bathroom. He wanted to cherish his privacy given that come college, he wouldn't be able to do so. He had inquired for dorms near SSU, where he would take his degree, and he was informed by all of the landlords and landladies that all the private rooms around the campus were already occupied. He thought of choosing a private dorm farther from the campus, but the idea of traveling long every day was counterproductive. That's the very reason he wanted to stay in a dorm.

So, he picked a semi-private room in a dorm close to the campus, thinking he could easily move to a private room once one becomes available. A room with one roommate couldn't be that bad, he thought.

Kongpob's thoughts were put on a stop when his left palm's itching became unbearable. He applied soap on it, thinking it would ease the feeling, but instead, his right hand started to itch as well.

Starting to get annoyed, he wetted his palms to remove the soap.

"Mae!" He called for his mom to ask for the itch cream. However, he's inside the bathroom inside his room, so Mrs. Suthilak wouldn't hear him.

Not knowing what to do, Kongpob wetted his hands and applied soap again. However, the soap slipped from his hand, but it didn't land on the floor.

It remained floating in the air, and for a few seconds, Kongpob was just starting at it.

Speechless because of the sight, he blinked multiple times to be sure of what he's seeing.

And yes, for real, the bar of soap was floating.

He tried to catch it, to try to put it down and once again ignore the sign, but it slipped from his hand once more.

"Aargh!"

He got irritated, which sent the shampoo bottle and the shaving cream floating as well.

"Mae..."

Kongpob started to feel fear. He wasn't bothered by the strange occurrences around him before, but it's the first time objects float around him.

"Mae!"

His loud voice made the medicine cabinet open itself and sent its contents flying away. His palms glowed, sparkling with small specks of bright golden light.

Kongpob's heartbeat sped up. He was afraid, thinking it isn't him, but a ghost playing with him this time. He grabbed his towel, which also tried to float away and fight him, and wrapped it around his waist. He got out of the bathroom and closed its door, and that's when he heard the floating objects in it drop.

That's also when the objects inside the bedroom started to levitate, his lamp, his alarm clock, his phone, and his display robots all drifting away from their places. Kongpob took a step, but his foot didn't touch the floor. He tried with his other foot, but it also remained in the air, lifting him higher.

"I'm floating! I'm floating!" He screamed as the ceiling lights flickered.

"Mae!!!"

"What is– oh," his mother reacted after she opened the door.

"Grandson, when did you learn to shout like– oh," an aged but relatively strong woman said when she appeared next. Her head tilted as the scene unfolded in her eyes.

Kongpob was floating, hands glowing, body horizontal, legs in the air, only wearing a towel, surrounded by a variety of objects

"You're right," the old woman told Kongpob's mother, her daughter.

"What's happening?!" Kongpob screamed.

"Relax, son," her mother tried to reassure her, but it didn't make him relax. Because what the hell? How would he be able to do that?

"Mae..." Kongpob started crying.

"Your mother told you to relax, so you should!"

But Kongpob sobbed louder instead. Both his mother and grandmother stepped inside the room, closing the door behind them.

"If you relax, it will go away."

Sniffing, Kongpob shook his head. He really can't do what his mother and grandmother told him. 

"Trust me," Kongpob's grandmother said as she held his arm.

With the touch, Kongpob's heartbeat started to slow down. His breathing normalized as his body started to lower on his bed. His grandmother's touch didn't leave him until his back was on the cushion of his bed, landing along with the other things around them. Normally, his mother would scold him for lying down while still wet, but this wasn't one of those situations.

Kongpob opened his mouth, ready to ask something, but his grandmother stopped him.

"Dry yourself up and put some clothes on. Then, follow us in the living room."

"Yai... Don't leave me."

"Listen to your grandmother, Kong."

Kongpob pursed his lips.

"We will answer your questions downstairs."

Though still shaking from the experience, Kongpob gave up and obeyed his elders.

He sat up as he waited for them to leave his room. The entire time he was alone, he was afraid the incident would happen again, eyeing every object in his room to see if they would start to move or float.

After a few minutes, he managed to get out of his room with both of his feet on the floor, though he decided to run on his way to the living room where his mother and grandmother waited, just in case it would happen again.

He hadn't reached the couch in front of his mother and grandmother yet when the latter started to speak.

"Our family is gifted."

Kongpob sat in front of them, hands on his knees. He remained quiet, waiting for his grandmother continue.

"People demonized us, told bad stories about us, but we're not what they think we are."

"What do you mean, yai? What are we?"

"I'm a witch, grandson, and apparently, so are you."

Kongpob opened his mouth, seemingly about to tell something, but it remained open until his grandmother spoke again.

"It's in our bloodline... supposed to be," she looked at her daughter, Kongpob's mother.

He chose to listen attentively, pretending he's understanding everything his grandmother was saying.

"It was supposed to be everyone in our family. But your mom wasn't blessed."

"If it's in our family, why aren't you a witch, mae?" Kongpob wanted to joke about her being like a witch whenever she would scold him, but his mind was too busy with all the information it's taking, not to mention it's rude to make fun about it given the current situation.

His mother just smiled at him as his grandmother continued, "The diminishing magic in this world resulted in fewer gifted children. Your mother wasn't given the power... not even your sisters."

Kongpob didn't like the revelation.

"I tried forcing your mother to learn magic. We tried the simplest spells. But the gift wasn't really in her."

"But, why me?" He asked with a worried face.

"We actually don't know," his grandmother replied. "When we noticed the signs, your mother and I were shocked."

Kongpob's question didn't refer to his gender, but the answer he received was about it. It isn't usual for male family members to be blessed with powers. Kongpob's grandmother only knew him and one other male witch. While thinking of him, there was a hint of worry in her eyes, but she quickly hid it with her smile. "But I know you'll be a good witch... like me."

But that wasn't Kongpob's concern.

"What I mean is... I am going to college soon. I can't be floating around randomly."

"Who said witchcraft involves you floating around randomly? That was just an accident, a sudden splurge of your inner energy to show you what you are capable of. Of course, you need to learn how to take control of your magic."

"Wait, wait... I need to learn?"

"Yes."

"On top of college? But I don't want it!"

His mother answered, "You have no choice. It's either you control it or you float around at random times." She giggled after saying that.

Kongpob sighed heavily, mind already exhausted from what he's about to face. He didn't ask for this.

"You wouldn't be able to get a girlfriend when you float around campus," his mother teased.

"Mae!"

"Or a boyfriend," his grandmother added.

"Yai!"

It's a serious matter, a big revelation to Kongpob, but leave it to his maternal family to lighten up the conversation. They're a family of joy, of joy and comfort.

"Kong, you don't have to worry." His grandmother moved beside him. "Your mother and I will be here. We will guide you, especially me. Here, I brought some things from home that will help you." She asked her daughter to pick up the wooden box at the foot of the couch.

"What's that?"

Kongpob's mother handed the box to them, and his grandmother put it on her lap. She brought out a black book that looked like a typical...

"A spellbook?" Kongpob asked with disgust in his face.

"See, you're already good at it!" His grandmother and mother shared a laugh.

Kongpob wanted to roll his eyes, but he learned how to not to in front of his family.

"And also, this," his grandmother took out an amulet from the box. It has a large pendant, too large for its thin lace. In the middle of the pendant is a golden gem, a bit cloudy, but still, with one look, one would know it's a real gemstone.

"What's that?"

"This amulet, I got it from my mother, your great-grandmother. Every witch in our family owned this amulet. It guided and protected us from the start."

Kongpob didn't understand how a necklace could "guide" and "protect" him, and there's no way he would be wearing that in college.

There were other things his grandmother showed and explained, all of which Kongpob pretended he cared about and understood.

"Don't forget to bring everything when you move to your dorm," his grandmother reminded.

Kongpob had no plan to bring all of those.

"Especially the amulet," his grandmother emphasized.  
  
  
  
  
  


After their conversation and seemingly endless convincing Kongpob that needed not to worry, he was asked to go up to his room again.

He initially didn't want to, afraid of another occurrence of what transpired earlier, but obeyed them. It wasn't always that he could be with them.

Every step he took on his way to his room, he grew conscious of the things in his surrounding because he's sure things were moving.

He clenched his fists, which were starting to itch again, and looked back at his mother and grandmother. They both gave him reassuring smiles and gestured him to proceed.

Kongpob nodded and walked straight to his room.

But the moment he stepped in, the robots and other things on the floor started to levitate again.

Kongpob, at first, went into panic, but then, he remembered that when he panicked the first time it happened, things got worse.

So straightened his back, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths.

He counted each if his inhalation and exhalation to try to calm himself.

After eight counts of each, when he opened his eyes, there's nothing floating in the air. All of his things are back on the floor.

He stepped further into his room, eyes roaming around, attentive of any thing that would move. Then, he picked up one of his display robots, his favorite one, and sighed.

All he wanted was to go to college and take the major he wanted, but suddenly, there's a different future ahead for him.  
  
  


This wouldn't be easy.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Sparkle-Handed

  
  
  
  
"I know we should've done this earlier, but now, we need to," Arthit tells Kongpob with his straight face. He has just caught him touching his robots. They aren't real robots, just action figures of robots from movies and animes, but still, they are what Arthit considers as his treasure.

"Okay," Kongpob answers, knees close to each other, face guilty.

"Do. Not. Ever. Touch. My. Things," Arthit warns him.

"Yes, P'Arthit."

"Do not even sit on my bed."

"I understand, P'Arthit. Sorry... about the robots. I just miss my robots at home."

"You should have brought them here, then. You brought a lot of things, even that weird box, but you didn't bring those that you want?" Arthit huffs.

Kongpob's eyes leave Arthit's face. He's afraid Arthit's going to bring up the matter again.

"Anyway, I will use the bathroom first today." Arthit finishes their conversation.

"You always use it first every day."

"Ah... " Arthit crosses his arms. "So you're complaining?"

"No, P'Arthit."

Arthit does not move his eyes from Kongpob's, and the latter feels like he's burning because of the glare. He shakes his head and repeats his answer: "No, P'Arthit."

"Good."

Arthit, then, turns around, puts his towel on his shoulder, and enters the bathroom. He doesn't see when Kongpob makes a face behind him.

The few days they spent together made Kongpob think his relationship with his roommate was going for the better. He might be right. They're already talking civilly every now and then. It's progress, according to him.

Maybe Arthit is really just this scary to everybody.

Or maybe he needs to wait a little more for Arthit to be comfortable with him completely.

He stays on his bed until he hears three loud knocks on the door.

"P'Arthit, are you expecting a visitor?" He asks him as he passes by the bathroom door, though the one inside the bathroom doesn't answer.

"Surprise!" the guy on the other side of the door shouts when Kongpob opens the door.

Kongpob touches his chest because of shock, exhaling loudly when he recovers. "I'm sorry, are you a friend of P'Arthit?"

The guy blinks repeatedly, unprepared to see a face different from his friend's. "Who are you?"

Kongpob is about to answer the guy when the bathroom door beside him opens.

"Who is it?" Arthit asks when he comes out, half-naked, lower body only covered by a towel. His face changes drastically from questioning to a mix of shock and distaste when he realizes who's at their room's door.

"Bright."

Bright's mouth falls when he sees Arthit in his current state. He stares at his friend head to toe, then at Kongpob, forming a conclusion in his mind.

"You didn't tell me you have your booty call with you," Bright says with a smug face.

"The fuck? What are you saying? And why are you even here?"

"Oh, didn't you hear? I said 'surprise!' Of course, I wouldn't say I will come," Bright explains as he lets himself inside the room uninvited. "Anyway, where did you get your booty call? Did you already follow Tutah's advice to download Grindr?"

"Shut up, Bright." Arthit wishes Kongpob didn't hear it, or that he doesn't know what that app is. "I'd never do that. And he's not a booty call. He's my roommate." He tells Bright before turning his head to Kongpob. "What's your name again?"

"Kongpob," he answers, eyes avoiding Arthit's face and half-naked body.

"There. Kongpob."

"Roommate?" Bright understands after seeing the two beds in the room. "I see... " He goes near Kongpob, putting his arm around him. Kongpob's head lowers as Bright does this. "I pity you, nong. Wait, are you my nong?" Bright doesn't wait for his answer. "You look young, so I think you are my nong. Anyway, did he hurt you already?"

Kongpob's eyes move to Arthit, who gives him a scowling look. Kongpob smiles and shakes his head. "No, he's totally fine as a roommate. He's very welcoming."

Arthit rolls his eyes as he senses the fakeness in Kongpob's words.

"Bright, can you not disturb him? Sorry, Kongpob, my friend is just like this."

So, Arthit can apologize, Kongpob realizes. "It's okay, P'Arthit. And it's nice meeting you, P'Bright, right?" Kongpob says as he removes Bright's arm around him.

"The handsome Bright, you're right. When you visit the Engineering faculty, you can ask anybody, and they will know me. I am that popular there."

"Engineering?"

"Yes, Arthit and I are both Engineering students. Hey, Arthit, you didn't tell him your major?"

Arthit just realizes Bright is right. He didn't tell anything to Kongpob. Bright scoots closer to Kongpob to whisper something to him. "Is he really treating you right? If he's not, tell me, I will take care of him for you."

Kongpob smiles at this.

"You realize I can still hear you, right?" Arthit says flatly. "And who's gonna take care of whom?"

Kongpob's smile widens at Arthit's irritated face, which Arthit notices. Though when he looks at Kongpob's lips, his eyes stay there longer than they should have.

"Anyway," Bright cuts Arthit's staring session. "I'm here to get you. We're drinking tonight."

Arthit's eyes light up and moved from the lips he's so looking at. It's been long since he last spent time with his friends. "Who's we?"

"You, me, and Tutah. He'll be coming tonight."

"Good. Let's leave early," Arthit decides and puts on a shirt. He then opens his drawer to get underwear and shorts.

He puts them on in front of his audience, though Kongpob chooses to turn to his back to give his roommate some "privacy."

"Let's go, Bright," Arthit says after he's done. "Uhm..." He notices Kongpob is still facing the wall. "Kongpob, why are you facing the wall?"

"Oh. You were putting on clothes, so I thought I shouldn't look."

Arthit puts on an irritated face. "We're all guys here. You don't need to do that."

Kongpob's mouth remains open, his head nodding to what Arthit has said, though internally, he disagrees. He feels uncomfortable looking at guys' bodies. He thinks he shouldn't see them. There's a reason why they are covered with clothes, according to him.

But now, this is another thing he has to adjust to. Good thing Arthit isn't the type of guy that Kongpob would date.

"Won't you invite him?" Bright asks his friend before stepping out of the room. Kongpob hears him, and he doesn't think coming with them isn't a good idea.

"Him?" Arthit reacts.

"Yeah. It could be more fun if there are more people."

For a short moment, Arthit thinks about it, but...

"Nah. Should be just us."

Bright shakes his head. "If you don't want to invite him, I will." He turns to Kongpob. "Hey, what's your name again? Do you want to come with us?"

Arthit rolls his eyes.

Kongpob blinks at the invitation. He thinks this friend of his roommate is nice after all. He could've been a better roommate. But he smiles and shakes his head. "No, thank you, P'. And my name is Kongpob."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I have some things to do."

Kongpob is free the whole day.

"Alright." Bright accepts Kongpob's answer.

"Maybe next time." Kongpob avoids the awkwardness as Arthit huffs on the side.

After the two take their leave, Kongpob chooses to remain in the room. Bright and Arthit might see him if he would go outside, and he doesn't want to think of another lie if ever that would happen.

He enjoys his remaining free days before college starts. Not moving from his bed, he falls asleep and stays there for a few hours.  
  
  
  
  
  


But at the sixth hour, he suddenly feels hot. The warm temperature he feels wakes him up. He's drenched with sweat. And that's when he notices...

"No... No... No..."

...that his palms are sparkling, like it's releasing surges of energy to nothing. He checks his bedsheet for damage. The parts where his hands rested are browned as if burned.

Then, Kongpob lifts his head and realizes the things inside their room are floating. His books, his and Arthit's pillows, Arthit's robots...

"P'Arthit's robots!" Kongpob shouts to no one.

He gets up quickly and tries to remember what his grandmother taught him.

_"If you relax, it will go away."_

So he does as he was told. Like the first time and the numerous times after that, he took a big breath, closes his eyes, and starts counting the subsequent breaths he takes.

He counts up to eight before opening his eyes again.

Nothing's floating anymore, and his hands are back to normal. He moves from his position and runs towards the robots, which fell from the air to Arthit's bed and on the floor.

He looks at the clock and panics when he realizes Arthit might be back soon. He carefully picks the robots up and quickly rearranges them on Arthit's display cabinet, hoping his memory of how they were arranged won't fail him.

"Should Victory 2 be here or there?" Kongpob asks himself. He's about to step on the bed to place the robot on the cabinet when the robot's leg falls off.

"Shit."

Kongpob picks the fallen leg in a swift move, but his hand sparks again, throwing the piece off under Arthit's bed.

Kongpob composes himself. If he won't calm down, Arthit would see him sparkle-handed and probably around floating things.

Again, he closes his eyes and does his calming ritual.

When he feels his hand doesn't feel hot anymore, he quickly moves under Arthit's bed to fish the robot's leg. Quickly but precisely, he re-attaches it to the robot, letting out a heavy sigh once the leg gets stuck to the robot's body.

But his panic comes back when he hears the doorknob rattling.

Good thing Kongpob had it locked.

With all speed, he steps on Arthit's bed to reach the robot's place on the cabinet and places it there, moving some others before he steps down. He fixes the bed to make sure Arthit won't know he stepped his bare foot on it.

He takes another look at the arrangement he has made and...

"Oh no."

...he isn't sure if that's how it looked like. However, it's too late now to think about it or do anything, for the door already clicks and Arthit enters the room, reeking of alcohol, paper bag on hand. He finds Kongpob awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, smiling at him.

Kongpob doesn't want to do it, but his eyes move to the side, to the direction of Arthit's display cabinet, prompting the other to take a look at it.

"Oh shit," Kongpob whispers to himself when Arthit turns his head to his robots. He closes his eyes, ready to be shouted at by his roommate.

He's lucky Arthit didn't catch him with sparkly hands, but he's so unfortunate to be scolded because of toys.

"Why are your eyes closed?" he hears Arthit speak. When Kongpob opens his eyes, his roommate's disgusted face greets him.

"What?"

"You're standing in the middle of the room with eyes closed."

"I'm... I'm... meditating," he blurts out.

Arthit's disgusted face remains on his face. "What a weirdo," he mutters. He continues walking into the room and places the paper bag he's holding onto their table.

Kongpob, heaving a sigh of relief, feels he's saved. He takes steps back and lets his body fall on his bed when he realizes Arthit is talking to him.

"Kongpob!"

"Sorry, what is it?" Kongpob sits up, afraid he's in trouble again.

"I'm asking if you ate already."

Kongpob blinks at the question. Arthit tilts his head, waiting for his answer.

Kongpob was so preoccupied, first by his long nap, second by the floating robots and sparkling hands incident, that he forgot to eat dinner. "Not yet, P'Arthit."

"Good. I brought food."

"Uhm..."

"We ordered too much. Help yourself."

"Oh... okay. Thank you, P'."  
  
  
  
  
  


"P'Arthit, are you sure you don't want to eat?" Kongpob asks him after setting the table.

"I told you I'm still full," Arthit answers from his bed without moving his head from the comic book he's reading.

Kongpob looks at the food in front of him. It's impossible for him to finish all of it, especially when almost all of it is spicy. He can't eat spicy food, but he can't bring himself to say no to the food offered to him. It isn't always Arthit is nice to him like this. So he gives Arthit another smile and starts eating the food given to him, doing his best not to look like he's struggling.

He's in the middle of his meal when his phone rings.

"Mae?"

It's Kongpob's mother.

"Son, you're still free tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Your grandmother might have found someone who can answer your question."

"I have so many questions about my life, mae. Which one?"

The conversation catches Arthit's attention.

"About the amulet," Kongpob's mother answers. He takes a peek at Arthit, who pretends he wasn't listening to his conversation. Kongpob senses it, though, so he lowers his voice.  
  
  


"Alright, mae. I'll see you tomorrow"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! sorry for the long wait. i am now regretting i committed myself to updating multiple stories now, but this was what i wanted lmao. rip me
> 
> n e way, i forgot to tell that this story will be quite experimental in a way that i will try to create a new character (for the first time weee) and the characters we know will somehow stray away from their usual selves. i'll still try my best for them to be recognizable as the kongpob and arthit we love, though! hope you're in with it. :)


	5. The Seer

  
  
  
  
  
  
"So, are we going to talk about your new roommate, Arthit?" Bright asked.

Arthit made a face. "What?"

"Arthit has a roommate?" Tutah butted in. After they left Arthit and Kongpob's room, they met with Tutah in a bar blocks away from the university compound.

"And why would we talk about him?" Arthit retained his irritated face.

Bright continued, "You should've seen him, Tutah. He's totally Arthit's type."

Arthit's eyes widened with what his friend had said. "The fuck? Where did you get that idea?"

Tutah opened his arms wide between his two friends, hoping to stop whatever violence that could occur. "Let me guess. He's tall?"

"Yes," Bright answered.

"Lean?"

"Yes."

"Handsome?"

"Yes?"

Tutah faced Arthit. "Just like the business major we caught you kissing at the back of the gym?"

Arthit grabbed a fistful of popcorn and threw it on Tutah's face. "I told you not to bring that up again! That's two years ago. Forget it already!"

"Totally," Bright answered Tutah's question, ignoring his other friend.

"Oh." Tutah rearranged himself on his seat. "Tell me more," he told Bright.

"Can you stop pretending that I'm not here?!" Arthit almost screamed at his face.

"Oi, Arthit, we just want to know if you will have a boyfriend again soon."

"What? I never had a boyfriend?"

"The business major?" Bright asked, eyebrow left eyebrow higher than the other.

"He wasn't my boyfriend!" Several people in the bar turned their heads to Arthit when he said that. All three gave them an apologetic look before turning toward each other again.

"You didn't need to be so loud!" Tutah loudly whispered to him.

"Well, stop talking about my business!"

Tutah, chin resting on his hand, turned to Bright, still not minding Arthit, who's now turning red. "So, do you think he's interested in him?"

"No one's interested in no one!" Arthit shouted again.

"Don't mind him," Tutah told Bright.

Arthit rolled his eyes and slurped his drink. He knew he couldn't stop his nosy friends from gossiping. It's good, though, that there's really nothing to gossip about. Him and Kongpob? They don't even talk that much.

"I actually think Arthit mistreats the poor guy," Bright explained to Tutah.

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah," Arthit turned to them with a sharp look. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. The guy... what's his name again?"

"Kongpob," Arthit answered in a low voice.

"Kongpob appears afraid of you," Bright continued.

"Well, he should be."

"I don't think that's the right way to get a boyfriend, Arthit," Tutah told him.

"I'm not trying to get a boyfriend! He's just my roommate. Stop thinking nonsense."

"At least you should treat him right." Bright commented. "One look at him and I already know you're bullying him around."

Arthit, right at that moment, thought about it. He knew he was hostile to Kongpob when they first met, but as far as he's concerned, he already toned it down. He thought it was already enough, but as Bright pointed out, it wasn't. Maybe the bossy aura he built for his head hazer character got really into him.

That's why when they ordered food again, he made sure to order extra so that he could give some to his roommate, thinking it would compensate the bad temper he showed him these past few days. Bright and Tutah, who decided to stop teasing their friend, shared a knowing look when they realized what Arthit was planning to do.

Since Arthit didn't know what kind of food Kongpob liked, he ordered what he would normally get instead.

When he entered their room after spending the rest of the night bickering with his friends, he found Kongpob awkwardly standing in the middle, eyes avoiding his.

What a weirdo, Arthit thinks. Now, he's thinking twice if he should give him the food he brought. He could just eat it as a midnight snack.

"Did you eat already?" He still asked Kongpob with a calm voice. However, the latter didn't answer. He's deep in his thoughts. Arthit repeated his question, but still, he received no response.

This roommate of his was really testing him. He tried once more, and that's when Kongpob finally noticed him.

"Sorry." Kongpob shook his head. "What is it?"

"I'm asking if you ate already."

Kongpob blinked at his question.

Arthit waited for a while before he got his answer. "Not yet, P'Arthit."

"Good. I brought food."

Kongpob showed him a clueless face.

"We ordered too much. Help yourself."

Kongpob, for the most part, appeared to be thankful for his treat. He gave him a smile while chewing the chicken tenders, though it appeared he's sweating really hard.

Must be the hot peppers, Arthit thought.

While reading his comic book, he tried to steal glances at his roommate. And that's when he realized that somehow, Bright and Tutah were right.

Kongpob is tall, lean, and handsome.

But Arthit didn't get reminded of the business major guy he kissed. He really wanted to forget that. He only kissed him to try to forget Namtarn, but now, it's biting him in the ass since his friends are still teasing him about it.

Arthit physically shook his head to get rid of the memory. He regretted it that much. His eyes, then, went to Kongpob, who just received a phone call.

It appears to be from his mother, but with his stares and lowered voice, it's evident that it's about a secret that he didn't want anyone to know.

Kongpob, Arthit thought, was really strange. 

~

Inside their home, Kongpob sits, a bit impatiently. He thought they would go somewhere else where they could find answers to his questions, particularly about the amulet incident. But when his mother picked him up from his dorm, she delivered him back to their home.

"You could've just asked me to go home instead of picking me up," he tells his mother.

"Why? It's faster," she answers.

A moment after, Kongpob's grandmother appears with a piece of chalk in her hand.

Kongpob rolls his eyes. "Don't tell me we will use that to write on a door and that door will bring us to a place where we can see the one who can help me."

His grandmother rolls her eyes harder. "We will use this chalk to write on a door, and that door will bring us to a place where we can see the one who can help you." She ends her statement with a smirk.

Of course, every popular witchcraft trope is true. Kongpob should get used to it already.

"Now, let's go to your room."

Initially, they choose the door to Kongpob's room, but his father and sisters might see it, so they opt to use the door to Kongpob's bathroom inside his room.

"Did you bring the book?" Kongpob's grandmother asks.

"Yes," he answers as he takes it out of the bag.

After browsing a few pages of scribbles Kongpob doesn't understand, his grandmother stops on a page and looks at it intently. On the page are symbols.

"Writing these symbols will bring us to a different place, but you can't come with us," she tells Kongpob's mother, which she already expected and accepted a long time ago.

There are more than forty symbols on the page, but Kongpob's grandmother only needed seven. She wrote the seven symbols on the door to the bathroom using the chalk. After writing the seven symbols, she repeated them in seven lines.

After writing the final symbol, she turns to Kongpob. "Are you ready?"

"Actually, no. Are you really sure about this, yai?"

"Very sure. Don't worry, the door wouldn't bring us to the Infinite Forest or to the beasts' cellar. We will just visit a friend."

Kongpob takes a deep breath and nods.

Then, his grandmother knocked on the door, and just right after the final knock, the symbols on the door glow, as well as the inside of the bathroom.

Without thinking twice, Kongpob's grandmother turns the knob and pushes the door, revealing a room in a house that isn't theirs.

"Here goes to whatever," Kongpob says to himself as he steps into the room, following his grandmother. The door behind them closes itself, leaving his mother outside of wherever they are right now.

"This friend of yours..." Kongpob asks his grandmother. "...do you really know her?"

His grandmother keeps her eyes away from him and straight to their path. "She's not really my friend. I only told that so you wouldn't ask questions, but here you are. But don't worry. She will help us."

Kongpob shakes his head.

"I've seen her already. Once. When I was around your age," his grandmother continues.

They turn left to what looks like a living room with no modern appliances. It's a quaint room with a coffee table and couches surrounding it, walls decorated with flowery wallpaper. His grandmother gestures him to go in and take a seat.

It hasn't been a few seconds when they heard someone from another room.

Steps are then heard coming to the room where they're at, each step louder than the previous. When Kongpob's sure his grandmother's "friend" is there, he turns to see her, but he didn't expect what's in front of him.

"Oranicha."

It's Kongpob's grandmother's name. Oranicha and Kongpob both stand up.

"You brought company."

"Good morning," Kongpob's grandmother greets the owner of the house. The said owner is an elderly woman like her, though her eyes were sewn shut, leaving her blind. She's holding a teacup, probably filled with whatever kind of weird tea, Kongpob thinks. He has not put his eyes away from her ever since she appeared at the doorstep.

The blind woman moved her face around, seemingly grasping whomever Oranicha brought with her. "What's your name?"

Kongpob's grandmother elbows him, reminding him to answer.

"My name is Kongpob."

The blind woman freezes when she hears Kongpob's voice. Obviously, she's not expecting him. She puts her teacup down and reveals the eyeball in her palm, finally seeing her visitors. "You. What are you doing here?!"

Kongpob gasps at the sight. His body moves backward, as if doing so would hide him from the old woman's eye.

Kongpob's grandmother puts her hand around his shoulder and speaks for him. "We're here to ask for guidance."

"Don't you know I do not help non-witches, Oranicha? Why did you bring him here?"

Kongpob's grandmother turns to him before speaking again. "That's the matter. _He_ is a witch. I thought you knew it even before we came here, given your capabilities."

The old woman moves her seeing hand towards Kongpob's grandmother. "I know you will bring someone, your grandchild, but I didn't see that it will be a grandson." She turns to her side. "The future is foggy nowadays. I only get glimpses if I'm lucky." She steps further into the room. "You said he's a witch?"

"Yes," Kongpob's grandmother breathily answers.

The blind woman paused for while, enough for Kongpob to feel fear of what she'll do next. After that scary silence, she moved her mouth to speak. "I need to think. I'll create more tea. You two take a seat," she says before leaving the room.

"She's very welcoming, reminds me of someone," Kongpob comments as he sits on the old couch in the room.

His grandmother slaps his thigh. "Don't speak of her like that!"

"I don't understand, yai. Why do we need her help? And why is she like that?"

"You'll understand it later, Kongpob. Just trust me on this one." She rests her palm on his thigh. "And she's a seer. She can see the future."

They stay silent until they hear the familiar steps again. When the seer appears at the doorstep, they see her bringing two more teacups.

"Don't drink anything," Kongpob's grandmother whispers to him.

The seer puts the teacups in front of them and sits on the couch opposite to theirs. She sips into her cup of tea before addressing her visitors.

"Oranicha, you know what this means, right?"

Kongpob's grandmother knows exactly she's talking about. She nods as the seer opens her palm again in front of Kongpob.

"You have questions," the seer addresses him.

Kongpob doesn't answer. He just stares at the eyeball in front of him.

"But we have as many questions as you have."

Kongpob's grandmother holds her chest, afraid of the revelation she thinks the seer will make.

"You, you will be challenged," the seer continues. "You will fight battles."

Kongpob makes a clueless face. What battles? He doesn't want to fight battles. He just wants to know why his amulet glowed one night and knocked his roommate out.

"I'm sorry," he starts. "I don't know what battles you're talking about. I'm just a simple boy who will be starting college soon. My grandmother and I are here just want to ask about-- "

"The amulet!" The seer shouts, shocking Kongpob and his grandmother.

"Yes, it glowed one night when I was—" Kongpob's grandmother cuts his words by touching his arm.

The seer roams her eyed palm throughout Kongpob, appearing to be searching for something on him. "Very foggy. Very foggy," she comments.

After doing it over and over, the seer closes her fist and rests on her back.

"I can't see it," she says. "Your future, boy, it's uncertain. So many forking paths. So many possibilities."

Kongpob furrows his brows.

"But one thing is certain. Someone will help you."

Kongpob turns to his grandmother, silent questions in his eyes.

The seer continues, opening her palm again. "Your constant. Your familiar. You will find your constant. And your constant will help you."

The pauses between her words are not helping Kongpob. Constant? Familiar? What does she mean?

"Your constant..." The seer raises her palm towards the air above Kongpob. "Your constant is a person."

What else could his constant be? Kongpob asks himself. The seer's words make no sense in his mind, but he tries his best to understand them. His attention goes back to the seer, however, when she speaks again.

"Your constant is a person of light!"

Flashbacks of the amulet glowing fill his mind.

He thinks of something, a possible connection between the seer's abstract words and the recent event. But he thinks it's impossible.

It's impossible for his roommate to be his constant. He looks very normal to him. And instead of helping him, he would probably kill him first.

But could it really be?

Arthit? Is his constant?

Kongpob is deep in his thinking, about to accept the theory he has just formed. But the seer speaks again. What she says confuses Kongpob more.  


"You will meet your constant soon."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Sun

_"Your constant is a person of light."_

_"And you will meet that person soon."_

The seer's words repeat over and over again in Kongpob's mind.

It's been two days since their trip to the seer's house, and he still can't fully understand anything she has said.

Within those two days, he researched anything that could help him understand even a little of the seer's words. But all he has learned is that a witch's familiar or constant is usually an animal, a black cat or a raven, in particular. Sometimes, a familiar can also be an elemental spirit or the soul of a deceased person.

But in Kongpob's case, it's a live person, and it's a person of light.

Kongpob rolls his eyes with the thought. Even when it comes to his witch life, he can't have things as normal.

Initially, he thought Arthit was his constant. The amulet glowed while he was there. Maybe, it signaled that he found his constant, the constant that the seer claims would help him.

But when the seer said he will meet his constant soon, he isn't confident at his theory anymore. He already met Arthit, unless the seer was wrong. After all, she admitted couldn't see things clearly when it comes to Kongpob.

All of Kongpob's thoughts get halted, however, when he notices his best friend waving his hand in front of him.

"Hey!"

Kongpob blinks and shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Em. What is it?"

His best friend sighs. "I'm asking if you want gravy or ketchup?"

"Huh?"

"For your chicken. Gravy or ketchup?"

They are having breakfast in a diner near their university. The place is full of uniformed students since today is the start of classes.

"Gravy," Kongpob answers.

Em then stands up and goes to the diner's counter, probably to ask for gravy and whatever he wants to come with his meal.

"Kong," Aim calls his friend's attention when he goes back to their table. "Is there something wrong? You've been out of your mind the whole morning."

Kongpob has thought of telling Aim about his secret, but his grandmother warned him not to tell anyone, not even his best friend.

"It's nothing," Kongpob answers.

"You sure? You've been zoning out a lot lately."

"Yeah."

"Just making sure. That's my job, not yours."

Kongpob smiles at this. "I'm just anxious for our first day."

Aim rests on his back. "Now, that you bring that up... actually, me too. I don't understand why this university still makes use of the SOTUS system.

"Right," Kongpob adds.

"Do you think we should skip it?"

"We can skip it if you like."

Em's face brightens. "That's what I like. It isn't compulsory anyway.

"Right."

"By the way, how's your roommate? Are you still not on speaking terms?"

Kongpob slows down chewing his food at Em's question. It's just now that it dawns on him that his roommate isn't as cold as he was before. Lately, they have more casual talks. He even brought food for him one night.

"We're—" Kongpob is about to tell his friend about the development, but he realizes they are running out of time. "Oh, shit. We will be late!" He scoops one last big bite from his plate. "Finish your food!"

Em follows. They both don't want to come in late to their first class on their first day. They stand up without completely finishing their food and brisk towards the university proper. They already visited their faculty's building a few days ago, so they already know where to go.

On their way, Kongpob recognizes somebody, so he taps Em on his shoulder.

"2'oclock."

"What?"

"2'clock. That's my roommate."

Em turns to the direction Kongpob has just said and sees Arthit, wearing maroon, surrounded by a bunch of other seinors. "I see. Is he in our faculty?"

"Yes, that's what P'Bright said."

"Who's P'Bright?"

"His friend. I met him once when he visited P'Arthit."

Em gives Arthit's group a final glance before continuing to run with Kongpob toward their building.  
  
  
  
  
  


Like many regular students, Kongpob is nervous for his first day. His first-day tension is worse than the others', however, because his uncontrollable telekinetic abilities and sparkly palms can always make an appearance, and he cannot let that happen when he's in the middle of the classroom.

That's why when their last class of the day is about to end, he's finally able to breathe. He wishes all days will be the same.

Kongpob's calm, however, is short-lived.

After the professor comes out of the room, two senior students wearing maroon shirts enter.

"You are all invited to the hall for your first gathering," says one of them.

All the students know what they are referring to. They affirm their attendance, howbeit unwillingly because it looks like the two seniors will not leave their room until everyone says yes.

"Kong, I thought you want to skip this?" Em asks him Kongpob when the seniors leave.

"Changed my mind. I want to see what they will do. You can skip it if you want."

But as his best friend, Em never leaves Kongpob's side. It's not that he worries for him— it's more for his own good. Kongpob, for the most part, always knows what to do. It's really just recently that things have gone south for him, though Em doesn't know that.  
  
  
  
  
  


In a few moments, they are led to the cheering hall, and they find themselves in the middle of their batchmates, sitting on the floor, all quiet, waiting for the next instructions.

"Are you sure about this?" Em asks Kongpob.

"Em, I told you to skip if you want to. I'm just curious about what will happen."

Right after Kongpob says that, the gymnasium doors behind them bangs. The freshmen turn their heads toward the noise, and they all see a train of maroon-shirted students, hands at their back, every step stiff, entering the hall.

"They're here," Em whispers.

The seniors went up to the stage, still in a perfect line. Their mere presence makes the freshmen's heads automatically bow. The freshmen hear the steps stopping, and then, a loud voice speaks.

"Good afternoon, first-year students."

The voice is familiar to Kongpob.

"My name is Arthit!"

Kongpob's head lifts up.

"I'm your senior in the Faculty of Engineering, and I am your head hazer!"

It's really him, though his voice got a hundred percent more threatening.

"I am in charge of monitoring all of you throughout the whole year!"

"It's P'Arthit," Kongpob whispers to Em.

"What?" Em confusingly asks.

"My roommate," Kongpob says between Arthit's lines."

Em lifts his head up and recognizes the guy Kongpob pointed at earlier. He suddenly feels bad for his best friend.

"I expect to receive full cooperation from all of you!" Arthit goes on with his speech. The way he delivers it borders angry, but that's exactly how he practiced it.

"I didn't know he's gonna be our head hazer," Kongpob continues talking with Em.

"And to start, I need someone to sing the Engineering hymn!" Arthit commands.

Kongpob, Em, and everyone else turn to each other at the order.

"There's an Engineering hymn?" Em questions.

"Why are you acting all shocked?!" Arthit shouts on the stage. "You want to be accepted in the Faculty of Engineering, but you don't know the hymn?!"

As he expects, he receives no answer.

"I need a volunteer!"

The freshmen on the floor remain quiet, all clueless on what to do. It appears none of them know the existence of the hymn, let alone its words and tune, but if they continue keeping still, they will all be in trouble.

"No one will volunteer?! I will call someone, then!" There is the trouble.

Em almost physically shakes out of fear beside Kongpob when he hears the head hazer's words. What will he do if he gets called? It turns out it's a bad idea that he joined Kongpob.

Kongpob, as clueless as his classmates, has his eyes roaming around the hall, and in doing so, he meets the head hazer's eyes.

There's a slight shock evident on Arthit's face when he spots Kongpob, although having Kongpob in the batch of freshmen that he will haze, he expected it already.

He grins.

"Shit," Kongpob whispers.

"What, shit?" Em asks.

"He's gonna call me."

"Really shit."

"Pray for me."

Embarrassing himself in front of his new classmates isn't how Kongpob imagined his first day would be. But with his savage roommate who turned out to be his head hazer, it's definitely going to happen.

"Student number–"

Kongpob's hands start to heat up.

Double shit.

"Student number 00–"

Does Arthit even know his student number?

"Student number 0026! Stand up!"

Kongpob grits his teeth, readying to stand up, but then, he realizes it.

0026? That's not him.

Four columns left of Kongpob, a freshman stands up. All of the students' eyes are on him. He's tall and with a face used to smiling.

"0026, what's your name?" Arthit, still on the stage, asks.

The student speaks, "Sun, Sunan Chanthawan."

Kongpob's eyes widen at his name. "Sun?"  
  
  


And in a flash, the seer's words come back to him.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all are free to imagine whom you want Sun to be, but in my mind, it's Tay, and no one's gonna stop me >:3


	7. Duabus Solis

  
  
  
  
  
Kongpob rummages his bag, searching for something he's sure he put in it.

"What's wrong, Kong?" Em asks as he takes the seat next to him.

"I am just..." There's a long pause as his hands roam around his bag's second compartment. "...searching for something."

"What is it?"

"My eraser. I'm sure I placed it here." Kongpob, tired of it, drops his bag on his desk. "Em..."

Em raises his eyebrows.

"Do you have an extra eraser?"

"I did, but I already let May borrow it. Sorry, man"

Kongpob's forehead creases. "Who's May?"

"About that... let's talk about her later."

Kongpob feels confused about what Em has said, though he's already used to his friend's antics.

"I do have an extra eraser," a voice says opposite of Em.

Kongpob turns toward the voice, unexpecting to see the guy whom Arthit called to sing the Engineering Faculty's hymn the previous day.

"Sorry, I think we haven't introduced yet," the owner of the voice says. "My name is Sun, and I have an extra eraser."

Kongpob knows his name very well by now. He's been thinking about him since he mentioned his name the first time in the cheering hall, and he was thinking about him while he was singing the Engineering hymn in perfect tune and conviction. He was even thinking about him before he went to sleep.

All those times, Kongpob questions himself if this person is really his familiar.

Sun, not receiving any response, smiles at him. "And you are?"

"I'm... My name is Kongpob."

"Nice meeting you, Kongpob."

"You can call him Kong," Em inserts himself in the conversation. "And I am Em."

Sun smiles at him, then goes back to Kongpob. "So, do you want to borrow my eraser?"

Kongpob nods, eyes not leaving his new friend's face.

Sun sets his bag in front of him and buries his face in it. When he comes back, his hand is with the eraser he's intending to lend to the other.

"Here." Sun gives it to him with a smile.

"Thank you," Kongpob says as he takes it from Sun's hand, his fingers slightly brushing the other's. Sun smiles at him again before setting his bag down.

Kongpob, flooded with feelings he's unfamiliar with right now, smiles back, though he has never been so tense.

  
  
  
~

  
  
  
The second day of classes goes well for Kongpob. Their lessons actually start, instead of being set aside for the introduction of the professors and their expectations from their courses.

The second day of the hazing activities, however, is another story.

Arthit asks the freshmen to do squats until they do it in his liking: in "perfect coordination." They're already in their sixth repetition, but seemingly, they still haven't perfected it.

The head hazer isn't pleased.

In their seventh attempt, in the midst of the freshmen's counting, Arthit notices a voice louder than the others. With crossed arms and slow steps, he searches for the source of the voice, and he finds it in front of the third column of freshmen from the right.

It's 0026, Sun.

When he called this particular junior the day before, Arthit was surprised that he already memorized the Engineering Faculty's hymn. He wasn't expecting anyone to fulfill the task. He was just there to scare the freshmen, but he got unlucky and picked, apparently, the only student to have memorized the hymn.

He's considering it as defeat. And there's something in him that urges him to bounce back.

"Enough!" He shouts. The freshmen are all panting out of exhaustion. "You should've done that in your first try!"

Finally, it appears the head hazer is satisfied.

"I am not satisfied!"

The freshmen collectively sigh.

"I am not satisfied because you're not complete!"

Almost half of the freshmen roll their eyes, including Kongpob. It's like the head hazer's past time is to find something wrong with them.

"Where are your other batchmates?!" Arthit shouts at them.

As expected, no one answers.

"Freshmen, I am asking! How many of you aren't here, and where are they?!"

Still, no one braves up to answer him.

"If no one would give me the answer, I would punish all of you with 54 laps around the field!"

The freshmen turn their heads to each other, all not wanting to receive the punishment. Still, however, no one is stepping up.

Impatient, Arthit readies himself to order them to run, but when he's about to give his order, he sees an arm raised.

"0026 Sun, permission to speak!"

Of course, it's him. He nods at him and waits for him to stand.

"14 students are not here with us," Sun says.

Arthit is intrigued. He steps closer to him and says, "Go on."

"There are 4o students in Industrial Engineering and another 40 in Mechanical Engineering. We are only 66 students here, so 14 are missing."

 _What?!_ He almost says in shock. How was he able to count that? Arthit knows this student is correct. While the freshmen were busy perfecting their squats, Arthit was counting. He pretended to not be satisfied with the squats because he wasn't finished counting them. But by the end of the seventh attempt, he finished counting. There are 66 students; 14 are missing.

While inside his own thoughts, Arthit ignores Sun's explanation of where their batchmates are. He's busy rationalizing what happened. This guy looks intelligent, but stil there's no way he counted accurately that fast considering he's positioned in the front and busy performing the task with the others.

Maybe, he has superpowers. Maybe, he's a counting wizard.

Knott, Arthit's best friend and the vice head hazer, nudges him. Arthit has paused for quite a long time, staring blankly at nothingness, that some of the freshmen are already laughing at him.

Arthit recollects himself and steps towards one of the students who laughed at him. Amusingly, this student is sitting beside his roommate.

The student who laughed at him, Em, has a big body, but he attempts to make himself smaller as Arthit approaches him. Kongpob, beside him, awaits for what Arthit will do to his friend.

"You are laughing," Arthit says aloud. "Care to share why?"

Em's hands start to visibly shake. He was laughing because he noticed the head hazer blanked out in front of his classmate, but never in his life he would admit that, not when he doesn't want to die yet.

"What's your name?" The head hazer asks him.

He stands up lousily. "E-em."

"I told you to say your student number when you speak your name!"

"0097!" Em blurts out in an instant.

"0097 Em, why are you laughing, then? Is something funny?"

At that moment, Em wants the earth to swallow him, or to pass out. Whichever is better, he doesn't know. All he wants is to get out of the trouble his smiling face has caused him.

Receiving nothing but shaky hands, Arthit grows impatient. He's thinking several laps around the field would teach this freshman a lesson.

He's close to ordering him when the student beside him raises his hand.

"0062 Kongpob, permission to speak!"

Kongpob doesn't need to introduce himself. Arthit has spent most of his recent time in the university campus with him, and one can say they already _know_ each other. They might not be talking all the time, but still, though involuntarily, in that small room on the third floor of the east dormitory, they are always together.

And during those times, Arthit has grown more aware of Kongpob.

"You didn't tell me you are the head hazer," Kongpob told him when he got home after the first hazing session.

"I just didn't think it's important." There was a pause. "I mean, I'm still stuck with you as my roommate, and you'll still be stuck with me," Arthit answered.

Kongpob continued staring at him.

"Don't worry," Arthit continued. "I won't boss you around here. I'm just your head hazer inside the university premises."

Kongpob seemingly accepted it. He invited Arthit to dinner, which, as always, he declined. Kongpob expected it. He really knows him well now, like how Arthit knows him.

But for the sake of formality and rules, inside the cheering hall, in front of the other students, Kongpob introduces himself to him.

Kongpob felt Arthit would punish Em, and he doesn't want his best friend to suffer whatever unjust punishment Arthit has for him, so he thought he should save him.

"I told him a joke," Kongpob says. "I told him a joke. That's why he laughed," Kongpob repeats, pursing his lips afterward. The act makes his cheeks plump, and Arthit doesn't fail to notice it.

Lately, Arthit catches himself staring at him. He has studied him, from how Kongpob wakes up, to how he goes to bed.

And it didn't occur to him that he can have plump cheeks when he purses his lips.

He thinks they're beautiful.

"Can you smile for me?" Arthit whispers, wanting to see more of Kongpob's cheeks.

The whisper was loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to be understood.

"P'Arthit?" Kongpob asks cluelessly.

There's a weird feeling in Arthit's chest. 

Knott, curious at how his best friend is acting, nudges him one more time. This brings Arthit back to where he is. In front of the freshmen, in front of Sun, Kongpob, and Em all still standing because he asked them to.

What is he doing?

Wait, did he really say that?

That he wants Kongpob to smile for him?

Knott nudges him for the third time, and this time, it comes with a whisper. "Arthit, I don't think you're okay. Dismiss the freshmen before you embarrass all of us more."

Arthit turns to him at this. Then he takes a look at the other hazers, whose heads are bowed, probably embarrassed that their head hazer is acting like a fool in front of everyone. All the hazers are postured like this, except for Bright and Tutah, who are both wearing impish smiles.

He takes a deep breath and faces the freshmen. When he turns, he meets Kongpob's eyes again. It's not the right place to think about it, but he thinks his eyes are magical, like they are casting a spell on him.

He puts his hands in his pockets, and there, he meets the eraser he stole from Kongpob's bag earlier that morning out of rush. His thoughts start to flood once more. But before he gets laughed at again, he buries his them and lifts his head up, face serious again.

"You two are forgiven," he tells Kongpob and Em. "But next time you joke at each other while I am speaking, both of you will run 54 laps! Understood?!"

"Yes, P'Arthit!" Both of them answer.

He, then, turns to Sun, who has been standing there the longest. He wants to interrogate him more, but he knows to himself he's not in the right mind right now. He moves his eyes away from him and addresses the rest of the freshmen.

"All of you are dismissed!"

The announcement causes the freshmen to stand up and get out of the hall. They are acting too rowdy for Arthit's liking, but he has no energy left to scold them again.

He just watches them as they go in groups, and that's when he witnesses Sun approaching Kongpob, putting his arm around the other's shoulders. Kongpob smiles at him when he feels the weight of his friend.

Arthit feels something, and he doesn't like what it is.

He witnesses as Sun invites Kongpob to go outside, which he's sure made Kongpob smile more.

This feeling, it tells Arthit that it should be him.

To be the one that causes him to smile.

To be the sun that shines on him.

Right there and then, in the middle of the people exiting the hall, he clears out his mind. And he finally names what he's feeling.

He's starting to fall, and he's jealous.

He's starting to fall for his roommate, and he's jealous of that roommate's friend.

Then, it just dawned on him.  
  


For the second time in his life, Arthit falls for someone who likes somebody else.  
  



	8. Blind Witch

  
  
  
  
  
Arthit finds himself in the middle of the hazers' headquarters. Why is he there? He doesn't exactly know. This is not a hazers' meeting, for only his close friends are in the room. But after he dismissed the freshmen, he was dragged by Tutah inside, and all of their friends were there waiting for him.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Knott starts the interrogation.

Arthit acts as if he doesn't know what his best friend is referring to. "What do you mean, Knott? And why are we here? I thought you wanted to grab snacks after the—"

"Stop changing the topic, Arthit," Tutah comments from the side. He's wearing a smirk, and Arthit doesn't want what he thinks it means.

"I'm not changing the topic, okay? I'm just hungry and—"

"In love," Bright continues his sentence.

The red in his face gets visible, and it bursts into a: "What? No! I'm not in love with Kongpob!"

All his friends pause for a moment, a long one, before Knott palms his own face. The sound of Knott's palm against his face sends him and Arthit's friends to laughter. They all laugh while Arthit makes an innocent face, unaware of the hilarity he just said.

"Why are you laughing?!" He stands up, feeling insulted, ready to leave.

Knott stops him from getting near the door and puts him back to the hot seat. He's trying to prevent himself from laughing more because he knows his friend doesn't like it.

He taps Arthit's shoulder and takes the seat beside him. "We didn't mention anyone, Arthit."

"But if he's the one that comes into your mind..." Bright says.

And that's when it dawns on Arthit.

"I told you he will fall for him!" Tutah pushes his best friend by the shoulder.

Arthit wants to lie, but knowing his friends, his nosy friends who correctly predicted that he'll fall for Kongpob, there's no point. They would just laugh at them more.

He is cornered.

He stays there, sitting, surrounded by his friends' wide faces, having no idea what to do. If they'd make fun of him for the rest of the day, he thinks he probably deserves it.

He thinks he deserves it for falling for a person who obviously likes another.

"So, what spell did he use on you?" Prem jokes.

"What made you fall for him?" Bright adds.

Arthit doesn't know if his friends are now serious or doing this for fun, but regardless, he answers their questions.

"That bloke, he likes iced coffee. Every time I enter our room, it's like a coffee shop because it smells coffee. He's a morning person, and when he wakes up, he likes to eat Chinese doughnuts and soy milk. He does this every morning. He always eats the same old thing." Arthit shakes his head.

His friends turn to each other as their faces turn serious.

"He always dresses too slow. He must look near from head to toe, it's so annoying..."

Knott, Prem, Tutah, and Bright move their faces closer, awaiting the rest of what he's saying.

"It's so annoying... that I can't stop thinking about him," Arthit says, voice calm, face straight.

His friends are left speechless. They remain silent for almost a minute until Bright comments from the side. "So you're really in love."

Arthit moves his eyes to him before speaking again.

"I don't know if I'm really—" He dodges the word "—like that already, but all I know is that... I'm starting to like him."

"Just like how you got stunned looking at him earlier," says Tutah.

Arthit shoots his head toward. "Ai'Tutah, was it really that obvious?!"

Tutah covers his mouth to hide his laugh. Prem answers for him. "Not only obvious to us. Even the freshmen were laughing at you." Prem shakes his head. "It was really embarrassing."

It's Arthit's turn to palm his face. He prepared so much for his role of being the head hazer, spending all summer break modulating his voice and practicing the stiffest walk he can, but now, he doesn't even know how to face even a single freshman.

All because of Kongpob.

Kongpob, whom he met not long ago. He doesn't even know who he is. There's just something that pulls Arthit to him, and that something immediately grew from annoyance to adoration without Arthit noticing it.

He sighs audibly, loud and clear to all of his friends. This Arthit is new to them. They've been with him for two years now, but it's the first time they see him acting lost.

They know about Namtan and how she unconsciously hurt Arthit before, but Arthit dealt with his problem with her differently. He braved the days and tried to search for something that would make him happy, be it realizing that that something was kissing boys at the back of the cheering hall, which his friends supported fully.

But now, he's acting lost.

All because of Kongpob.

"Arthit?" Knot calls his attention after seeing him blank again.

Arthit's eyes blink when he hears his name, and all his friends, again, turn to each other.

"He's a lost cause," Prem mutters.

Bright should be the last one to do it, but surprisingly to everyone in the room, he takes the situation into his own hands: "We will help you with that freshman."

"What?" All four others, including Arthit, question in unison.

Bright gives his friends a knowing look, hoping they'll get that they need to help Arthit out of his misery. Then, he gives Arthit a wide smile and nods. Knowing Arthit, Bright expects him to decline the offer, but the response he gets is quite the opposite.

Arthit scratches his nape and gives him a shy look. "You don't need to do this, Bright."

"Are you really our Arthit?!" Knot exclaims.

"What magic did that junior do to you?" Prem adds.

Tutah stands up in full glee. "OMG! I'm so excited!" He stands up from his seat. clapping his hands like a mad seal. "Arthit! Arthit! I can already visualize it! You'll have your first boyfriend!"

Arthit, for the most part, never realized his friends would help him when it comes to boys. Coming out to them after they saw him kissing the Business Faculty's basketball team's captain was really a challenge for him, but now, they will even help him court a boy.

He wants to cry, but he already had enough embarrassment today, so he does his best to stop his tears and display a controlled face. His friends move closer to him so that they can talk about their plans, but before they begin, Bright asks an important question:

"What's that junior's name again?"

Tutah smacks his head with his hand. "You already met him, and you forgot!"

Bright nurses his head that his best friend hit. They start their own bickering, a usual sight, but they stop when they hear Arthit's answer:

"It's Kongpob." His voice is soft, answer delivered as his lips curve with a smile.

All of them stare at him in awe.

Prem, once again, shakes his head.

"He really needs our help," Tutah whispers.  
  
  
  
~  
  
  
  
"Since this is our first day as friends, I will treat both of you!" Sun tells Kongpob and Em when they passed through the gates of the university.

Em pats his new friend's back and thanks him, while Kongpob, he gives him an awkward smile.

Kongpob's not used to being treated. He's always the one treating everybody—Em can attest to that—so he doesn't know how to react. 

But Sun buying him food?

Somehow, Kongpob likes that. He can't help but be intrigued by him. After all, there's a high chance that Sun is his familiar. And if he is, Kongpob shouldn't miss the chance of being close to him.

But being his familiar, Sun needs to see Kongpob as who he is.

Not as his regular blockmate and potential friend.

But as a witch who doesn't know how to use his powers.

Imagining it sends shivers down Kongpob's spine. He doesn't want anyone to know about his "capabilities." Rightfully, he doesn't consider himself capable, and even if he does gain full control of his powers, become capable, he isn't sure if he wants anyone to know about it.

If he isn't careful, he might end up being hunted by people who are afraid of anything different or, at least, being the subject of a cruel science experiment.

Neither is how Kongpob wants his remaining days to be.

Thus, for now, he needs to make sure that Sun is his familiar. If it happens, he will, then, figure out how to break the news to him. All signs point to Sun, but if all the signs are true, Kongpob doesn't even know how he would explain to Sun that he would take the role of a black cat. What would Sun even do? Would he even willingly play the part?

There are a lot of questions, and Kongpob cannot answer them now while moving on the sidewalk. But one thing's he's sure of. Until he confirms that Sun is—

"Kongpob!"

Kongpob's thoughts take a sudden halt when he gets pulled from the road. The pull is so strong that it throws Kongpob's body on top of the one who pulled him.

It took a while for Kongpob to realize what happened and what's happening.

He's on the ground, on top of Sun, who saved him from an incoming vehicle, which almost hit him.

"Kongpob, are you alright?" Sun asks under him.

That wakes Kongpob from his state and quickly picks himself up. He notices a scrape on his right elbow but ignores it to help Sun up.

"Kong, are you out of your mind?!" In a rare moment, Em shouts at him.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Thank you... for saving me," Kongpob tells Sun.

"It's okay." Sun notices his injury. "Hey, you have a wound!"

Sun moves his palm toward it, but he immediately takes it back. If Kongpob notices it, he chooses to ignore it.

"We should get you back to the clinic," Sun says, eyes avoiding Kongpob's.

Kongpob, now feeling the sting of the scrape, nods his head in agreement.

The three start to head back. But the cheerful and rowdy mood changes.

Sun and Kongpob are now stealing awkward glances from each other, and Em can't help but be confused.  
  
  
  
~  
  
  
  
"Arthit!" Bright screams in a whisper. "Finally, you answered!" He's been calling Arthit a few times now.

"I was taking a shower. What do you want?" Arthit answers on the other line.

Arthit didn't expect that his friends' plan to help him with his heart matters will be this soon.

"Your Kongpob is here at the clinic, and he's injured!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	9. The Coven

Arthit almost ran back to the university when Bright told him that Kongpob was injured, but his friend told him not to since that would be too obvious.

"You will scare him, Arthit, and you wouldn't want that," Bright advised.

But Bright, being the bright person that he is, thought of another idea. He told Arthit that he should help and take care of Kongpob in their room. That's why when they ended their call, Arthit ran towards the pharmacy to buy antibiotic ointment, iodine, and bandages.

That's why he's now waiting at the lobby of their dorm waiting for Kongpob.

He sends a text to Bright asking if he's sure Kongpob already left, and Arthit receives a reply confirming it and a teasing that he's so impatient to see his crush.

Arthit wants to retort and correct his friend, but there's nothing to correct since that's what exactly what he is: excited to see his crush. Is Kongpob even considered a crush? He doesn't know. All he knows is that he cares about him, and his worry for him is genuine.

He's about to send Bright a hearty and not-so-Arthit thank-you message when he catches a glimpse of Kongpob coming.

With Sun.

Arthit makes a face when he sees Kongpob's company.

They are nearing, and Arthit needs to be less obvious that he's waiting, so he steps back, leans on the reception desk, and opens a magazine in front of his face.

When he feels Kongpob and Sun approaching him, he slides the magazine down to take a peek. Sun notices him and suddenly avoids his gaze, whispering something on Kongpob's ear. Kongpob stops his steps when he realizes his roommate is there.

"P'Arthit?"

"Kongpob... uh... what happened to you?"

Kongpob feels weird.

Why wouldn't he? It feels weird to have Arthit worrying about him, yet he answers him, while he scratches his head. "Just a minor injury. And you, why are you here? Did you forget the key to our room?"

"Wait, you're roommates?" Sun asks, face visibly shocked.

"Yes, we are," Arthit answers, chin and left eyebrow up.

"Ah," Kongpob chuckles. "I forgot to tell you, P'Arthit is my roommate."

Sun obviously doesn't want to hear that.

Kongpob notices this, but he thinks his friend, like all of his classmates, is just super annoyed at him. He puts his attention back to Arthit, whom he gets reminded of that shouldn't be at their dorm's lobby. "Did you lock yourself out of the room?" He asks again.

"Me?" Arthit hasn't thought of any alibi, so he answered yes. "Yes, I got locked out. Good thing you're here!" Arthit scratches the back of his head.

Sun puts his gaze down on Arthit's shorts, specifically on the keychain hanging from his pocket. He mouths something that both Arthit and Kongpob do not hear.

Kongpob nods to signal to Arthit to follow them, but when the two start walking toward the stairs, Arthit stops them again. "Wait!"

The two give him a confused look.

Arthit faces Kongpob. "I can help you upstairs. 0026 can now go home."

"Excuse me?" Sun butts in.

Arthit glares at him. "I can help him up. You go home. Also, visitors aren't allowed in our room."

If Arthit isn't his head hazer, Sun would've rolled his eyes.

"But why, P'Arthit?" Kongpob is confused. He doesn't know about the rule, and it's just recently that he saw Bright inside their room.

"It's this dorm's policy," Arthit says as he nods to make his statement believable.

"But, P'Bright visited you the other day."

Arthit has to think of something. "Uh, it's... it's a new rule. If it's past—" Arthit takes a look at his watch. "6 PM, visitors aren't allowed."

Sun is sure Arthit is inventing things. "Don't worry, P'Arthit, I'll just assist Kongpob, and I'll go.

"I can do it, 0026. I can assist."

Tension starts to build between them as they hold each other's glances, not one wanting to back down.

Kongpob, not recognizing what's happening in front of him, grabs Sun's arm. "I just want to rest. I'll let Sun bring me upstairs," he tells Arthit.

As the two continue their way to Kongpob's room, he's left there at the lobby, still holding the magazine he didn't even read.

"Sorry about P'Arthit. I don't know what's going on with him, but he's usually nice when he's not acting as a hazer," Kongpob tells Sun as they climb the last set of stairs to Kongpob's room.

"Nice?"

"I mean... he wasn't at first, but now he is... kind of..."

Sun huffs. "I don't see it."

Kongpob shakes his head and chuckles. "I wonder what's happening to him."

They reach the door to Kongpob's room before Sun speaks again. "He's jealous of me," he says in a whisper.

"What?" Kongpob acts like he didn't hear it.

"Nothing."

~

Namtarn steps into the newly opened door. It's been a long time since she's been here. Last time, she was with her mother.

Her mother, who introduced her to all the other witches.

This time, with her mother busy at work, Namtarn goes alone. She doesn't know why there's an assembly, however. Her mother just told her that she should go because she's a witch.

Yeah, right, she thought.

She follows the straight path until she reaches a room full of women of all ages, of all backgrounds. When her mother introduced her to the others, it caught her off-guard that her pediatrician is a witch, but she wasn't that shocked. Her mother, a bank teller, is a witch, so what's stopping a pediatrician to be one?

The meeting has already started, and she's pretty sure they are talking about someone who needs to die.

This isn't what she expected the assembly would be about.

"The anomaly is a danger not only to us, witches, but also to normal people!" The egg vendor said, and almost everyone in the room nods in agreement. Murmurs begin as the coven figures out how to exterminate the "anomaly."

"Shhh!" The frail-looking old woman hushes everyone. "There's no need to worry now." She turns around and reveals her sewn eyes, prompting Namtarn to gasp.

"The Seer is right," the supreme witch announces. She's sitting on a high chair behind a high desk. If Namtarn didn't know this is a witches' assembly, she would think the woman is just a secretary who fancies high chairs and desks.

"We've sent someone who'll watch the anomaly for us." the supreme witch continues. "For now, the anomaly is harmless."

This talking about the anomaly that the witches want to be killed makes Namtarn's head spin. It isn't even five minutes that she's here, but she already wants to step away.

So that's exactly what she did.

~

Arthit doesn't get up to his room, not until he sees Sun stepping out of the building. He hides himself behind another magazine. It's not a wise plan, but at least he thought of changing his prop.

He sees Sun rushing to get a cab. Arthit isn't sure why it took Sun almost an hour to get Kongpob to their room, and he regrets why he just let the two alone in it. When he's sure Sun already got a cab, he rushes upstairs to try his shot again.

Inside the cab, Sun dials a number and puts the phone to his ear. After a few rings, he starts talking.

"I wouldn't call if it's not important."

He scratches his forehead.

"Of course!"

"Yes, I called because I need to tell you something."

"They are roommates."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD THEY ARE ROOMMATES!


	10. Sad Soup

Arthit and Kongpob's tragic love story is indeed tragic but not yet a love story. It's just that one day, Arthit woke up realizing he likes his roommate and had the sudden urge to kiss him.

"Arthit, do you really like Kongpob?" Tutah asked him one day.

"I think so," he answered.

When it comes to romance, Arthit always acts without planning, hence, the kiss at the back of the gym with a random boy and other untold instances.

He's still like that. However, at least, he's trying to be more romantic now.

That's why he's busy in their mini kitchen, cooking soup for Kongpob.

"It's the first time I see you cooking, P'Arthit," Kongpob comments.

Arthit looks back at him, then back at the pot. "When you were not yet here, I always cooked, probably every day," Arthit answers. He waits for Kongpob to talk again, but he only receives silence, so he glances back and sees Kongpob playing with his phone.

Arthit bites his lip. He should keep the conversation going or he would bore Kongpob out. "Are you playing a game? What are you playing? We can play together if you–"

"Uh no, I don't play games. I'm just texting Sun."

Of course.

Arthit fakes a cough. "0026? He just came here. What's he saying again?" He tries hard to hide his irritation.

There's a short pause before Kongpob answers. "He's just asking me if he needs to bring me dinner."

Arthit stirs the soup more intensely than he should. He takes a deep breath before responding to Kongpob. "Tell him I'm already making us dinner."

There's silence, and Arthit thinks Kongpob doesn't want to deal with his cooking, so he turns his head, a signal for Kongpob to answer. There, he finds Kongpob sitting, looking shy.

"I will, P'. Thank you," Kongpob says.

Arthit quickly faces the pot again, then smiles at it.   
  
  
  
  


"Here, let me feed you," Arthit says while attempting to hover the spoon over Kongpob's mouth.

Kongpob looks at the spoon, then at him. Then, he laughs. "P', I just injured one arm. I'm not sick. I can do that myself," he says, taking the spoon from Arthit.

Arthit wants to smack his own head. "Of course, of course." He watches as Kongpob takes his first sip, anticipating what he will say about his cooking. He prepared soup with noodles and meatballs, the soup an imitation of what his mother makes when he's sick. Arthit believes his mother's soup heals him when he's sick, so he chose to share it with Kongpob.

"Even your soup is spicy, P'."

"Thank y– wait, what?" It wasn't the description Arthit was expecting.

"You like your soup spicy, just like your chicken tenders," Kongpob answers, reaching for a glass of water.

"I noticed you like spicy food, even the food you gave me the other night was spicy."

"I do, but don't you like it?" Arthit asks, afraid that the Kongpob will say he doesn't.

"Honestly... I don't."

Fuck.

"Kongpob, I didn't know," Arthit heart sinks. "I thought you like it because you ate all the spicy chicken tenders the other night. I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, P'. But can I tell you something?"

Arthit is afraid. What more can Kongpob tell him now that he basically implies his cooking sucks? Arthit just widens his eyes as he anticipates.

"I only ate those chicken tenders because I was afraid you'd scold me if I didn't."

"What? I wouldn't!"

"You were scary, and I didn't want to anger you, so–"

"So you ate all of them," Arthit continues, palming his face. If he could be swallowed by the ground this moment, he would want it to happen. He wanted to impress Kongpob, but here they are. He cooked, and Kongpob didn't like it. Tragic.

When Kongpob notices Arthit is red and doesn't move his hand from his face, he feels guilty. "P'Arthit, I'm not saying you cook bad. Your soup tastes good..."

Arthit peeks from his hand.

"...If I like spicy food, I would have loved it. I will still eat it now," Kongpob continues as he takes another sip.

Then, he takes another glass of water.

Arthit feels ashamed of the torture he's keeping Kongpob in. He takes a clean spoon and scoops the visible chili flakes from Kongpob's bowl, hoping it would lessen the spiciness. "Kongpob, you don't have to finish it. I can finish it all. I'll just buy you soup from downstairs."

Arthit looks so apologetic that Kongpob wants to just finish the soup in one gulp, but he knows in himself he can't do that.

"I'm really sorry," Arthit says as he continues scooping chili flakes.

"P'Arthit, please stop apologizing. This isn't like you."

"Kongpob," Arthit sighs. "Listen to me. The scary senior I was before, that's the one who isn't me. I'm sorry if I scared you. Honestly, I was just annoyed that I would have to share a room with another person."

Kongpob nods as if what Arthit has said makes total sense.

"Now, please don't be scared at me anymore? I might try to scare you and the other students during hazing, but remember that I'm just doing it to fulfill my role."

"Hmm... I understand that, P'."

Arthit scratches his eyebrows. "Now, can I–" He says as he takes Kongpob's bowl. "I will change the soup. I still have some ingredients here, so it should take no time.

Kongpob, not given any choice, just nods, and lets Arthit do his thing. He wishes he could help, but he cannot cook, even when he had two good arms.

From the table, he just watches Arthit as he's scrambling in the kitchen, dropping a whole onion from his hands. "P', you don't have to rush. I am not that hungry yet," he lies to make Arthit relaxed.

Watching Arthit like this makes Kongpob feel something. There's a familiar heat in him that he knew he felt before. Something has sparked. He thought Arthit being truthful and thoughtful toward him makes him feel warm, but when he notices the spoon on Arthit's bowl spinning by itself, he realizes what's happening.

His palms heat up, and utensils in front of him start to float.

"Not now, not now," he mutters to himself. He takes a look at Arthit, who's facing away from him, busy fixing his soup.

It's been a while since he had a "fit," and he wasn't expecting it to happen now. He tries to relax, breathing slowly in and out and closing his eyes, but when he opens them again, his fork is still floating in front of him.

"No, no, no, no." He's starting to panic, which is the one thing he shouldn't do. Arthit's bowl of soup starts floating, and Kongpob still doesn't know what to do.

Arthit can't see him like this. Seeing him like this will surely scare the senior, and Kongpob doesn't know how he would explain that.

Suddenly, he remembers something. As quietly as possible, he stands up from his seat and goes straight to the box under his bed. His grandmother gave him an amulet, which she believes could help him. He doesn't believe her, but it's his only choice, so he pops up the box open and grabs the amulet before everything in it starts to float.

The pendant of the amulet, golden and bright, floats from his hand, but he catches it and wears the string around his neck. The pendant remains floating, and nothing changes. His hands start to sparkle.

Arthit would surely notice everything in no time.

Kongpob is fucked and doomed.

His secret will be revealed.

Not knowing what else to do, he goes back to the table and tries to relax again, doing the breathing exercises once more.

But still, nothing changes.

It should work, with the amulet now, but still, it doesn't.

With nothing else to try, he resorts to catching utensils with his own sparkly hands, but the moment he places them back on the table, they start to float again.

Arthit's soup bowl, however, is the most important since it could spill, which could speed up the spillage of his secret, so Kongpob catches it with both of his hands.

And that's when utensils around the table fell from the air.

Kongpob is clueless about why touching the bowl made the fit stop. He stated at it for a few seconds before he remembers he has a more urgent concern now.

The clattering sound catches Arthit's attention, and his head darts toward Kongpob, who's wide-eyed, holding his bowl of soup, around scattered utensils on and under the table.

"What happened?" Arthit asks.

"I... I hit the table with my knee," Kongpob says as he places the bowl back on Arthit's side of the table. "Sorry."

"Oh, are you hurt?" Arthit asks, worried.

"No, no, I'm not," Kongpob answers with a fake laugh as he crouches to reach the fallen spoons and forks under the table.

"All right, but what's that you're wearing?"

"What am I wearing?"

Arthit is eyeing the amulet. "I think I saw that before."

"What?" Kongpob forgot that Arthit already met the amulet and that it lit up and knocked him to sleep. "I'm–"

"I'm pretty sure I know that thing," Arthit whispers, moving his face closer to the pendant to examine it.

"I..." Kongpob covers the pendant with his fist. "I don't think so. I've just bought it yesterday."

"You've just bought it?"

"Yes."

"And you're wearing it now?"

"Uhm... yes? I find it cute!" Kongpob wants this to end... if only there's someone who could save him.

And just as Kongpob wishes, someone knocks on their door. Arthit turns his head away from Kongpob and steps toward the door Kongpob can finally breathe.

Arthit, however, opens the door to an uninvited guest.

"Sawasdee krap, P'Arthit. I brought food for Kongpob."

It's Sun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year, everyone!


	11. Flicker in Flight (Part 1)

  
  
  
When Arthit called for a meeting, Tutah and Prem thought it would be about the hazing activities. Their friends have probably thought of a way to redeem himself to their juniors, and if that's the case, then they would be happy to help. However, when they came to the bar and saw only Arthit staring at what appears to be soup container, they realized that it will just be the three of them, and they figured it's about something else. Tutah has a solid clue about what it is.

Tutah sighs as he sits beside his slumped friend. "What happened now, Arthit?"

Arthit just looked at him and took a gulp from his bottle.

"Wait, wait..." Prem interrupts. "What is this about? Is this about your boy?"

"What else do you think this is about?" Tutah answers for Arthit.

"Then, why the fuck am I here? I don't have anything to do with that—" Prem gets interrupted by Arthit's striking glare. Even if they are both hazers, Arthit's fake glare is really effective that even him gets frightened. But is it fake, though?

The three stay there not talking, unmoving, only Tutah and Prem trying to communicate using their eyes. After minutes of silence, Arthit slams his head on the table and lets out a muffled cry. "He hates me!"

"What!" Prem says as he lifts his friend's head. Arthit's face is unexplainable—all that Tutah and Prem know is that he has a problem, something about someone hating him, high chance it is Kongpob.

"Are you sure he does, or you just exaggerating?" Tutah questions him.

"He didn't eat my soup!" Arthit says as he slams his hand on the table. "I cooked him soup, and I re-cooked it because apparently he doesn't like spicy food and I thought he does... I did all that, but still, he didn't eat it! He hates me, Tutah! He hates me!" Arthit cries.

"No, he doesn't," Tutah flatly responds. He sighs again. "Now, tell me what really happened."

And that's how Arthit retells, between dramatic sniffing, how he fucked up by feeding Kongpob spicy soup and how Sun saved Kongpob from eating more of his "dreaded" (which is an exaggeration) cooking by bringing him dinner, which just so happened to be Kongpob's favorite.

Exhausted of his own story, Arthit exhales heavily. "That's why you have to eat this with me," Arthit opens the container and shows the cold soup in it. "Sad soup, miserable... sad... like me!" Arthit lets out another dramatic sobbing. Prem takes the container from Arthit's hold of it.

"This is really a very sad soup, Arthit."

Arthit slams his head against the table once more, and Tutah raises his hand to ask the waiter for soup bowls.

  
  
  
~

"Kong, do you have a secret?" Sun asks him during dinner. He bought him noodles in clear soup with meatballs, and for himself, he's having fish that's too uncooked for Kongpob's liking.

Kongpob swallows his non-spicy soup fast. He's glad that the food he's eating won't hurt his tongue now, but he feels bad because his roommate cooked for him, and that roommate just left without any word. "What?" He asks Sun back.

"A secret."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe, you want something to tell me, something to reveal?"

Sun tries his luck pushing Kongpob to tell what he really is. When he entered the room, he felt magic, and it's undoubtedly Kongpob's. It's fleeting yet immense. It's powerful yet out of control. With Kongpob's magic around, Sun thinks it's the perfect time to bring it up.

If Kongpob would.

"I don't know. I think everyone has secrets," Kongpob deflects, oblivious of where Sun is going at.

Sun swallows. He realizes directly making Kongpob talk about it won't work. He needs a plan, and he needs to do this right, or else, Kongpob might suspect him of something he isn't. "I guess you're right," he answers. Suddenly, he has a plan. "Even I have a secret."

Kongpob moves his eyes from his soup toward his friend, who stares at him with a look Kongpob didn't expect. "What is it?"

If Kongpob were stupid, he wouldn't notice Sun's eyes looking at his lips. He also wouldn't notice how Sun seemingly moves his face closer to his, slowly closing his eyes.

Panic strikes Kongpob. Is this what he thinks it is? If it is, if Sun is going to kiss him, shouldn't he move back or do something to prevent it? Sun is handsome and very nice to him. But he is his friend.

But he's also smart, and Kongpob would lie if he says he isn't attracted to him. Maybe a kiss with a friend wouldn't hurt. Maybe Sun appreciates him like how he does to him. So, slowly, he closes his eyes and waits for it, waits for Sun's lips to touch his.

But before they do, his phone dings.

Both of them open their eyes.

"Sorry," Kongpob says, the moment ruined.

Sun moves back and needlessly plays with his food as Kongpob reads a text.

_Is 0026 still there? If he is, tell him to go home already. It's already past 9 pm. If he refuses, I will make him run 54 laps tomorrow!_

Kongpob can't help but feel irritated by Arthit's text.

"Who is it?" Sun asks.

Kongpob sighs. "P'Arthit wants you to go home now or else–"

"Or else what?"

"He will make you run 54 laps tomorrow."

Sun hisses and rolls his eyes. "That shorty is really a bully."

Kongpob's face shows he obviously disagrees, but he doesn't affirm his friend's statement.

His friend who almost kissed him.

Somehow, Kongpob is relieved the kiss didn't happen. He isn't sure if doing that with his friend is the right decision. He is his friend, but they knew of each other just not more than two weeks now. Reading Arthit's text once more, the irritation he initially felt is gone. Now, he's somehow thankful that it stopped whatever needed to be stopped. He sighs, then speaks to Sun. "So..." Sun looks at him. "...thank you for the dinner."

Sun is confused. "Y–you're welcome, but... but, you really want me to leave now?"

Kongpob starts at his bowl, avoiding talking about what almost transpired. "It's past 9, and P'Arthit might be here soon. I don't want you to run 54 laps tomorrow," he answers.

"Uhh..." Sun still tries his chance. "You sure?"

Kongpob stands up. "I am. Uhh, I'll... I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh, all right..." Sun stands up. "See you... see you tomorrow."

Kongpob opens the door for him and awkwardly waits there for him to leave. Sun, with his reluctant steps, goes out the door, but before he fully leaves, he turns around, to Kongpob's surprise. "Kong, about... about what happened, my secret..."

Kongpob internally panics again.

"My secret–"

"Take care, Sun!" Kongpob interrupts and then closes the door.

He rests his body flat against the adjacent wall, audibly exhaling his room's now-lonely air.

The thing that almost happened tonight makes Kongpob feel confused. He has a lot on his plate right now–college, his "condition," the hazing activities–and having a love life will just add more complications to his already-complicated life. He feels shy and somehow mad, yet he feels regret. He feels troubled, yet he feels appreciated. Who would've thought his friend would try to kiss him? All of those feelings are crowding him right now, it feels too much. And then, he feels another unwelcome feeling. He feels heat.

He feels heat. Then, his palms itch.

Then, they spark.

Then, the lights start to flicker.

And everything in the room starts to float.  
  
  
  
"Oh no, not again."  
  
  
  
  
  
  


~

Arthit leaves the bar sober, unlike his two friends. Literally, who has a boy problem and should be drinking? Him or them?

Arthit might never understand his friends' love for alcohol, but they still are his friends. And this time that Arthit needs them, they went and delivered. Over a few bottles of beer (few for Arthit and a lot for Tutah and Prem), Arthit expressed everything he feels, and over those bottles of beer, Tutah and Prem realize Arthit is dead serious to Kongpob. It's their first time seeing Arthit like this–going crazy and not feeling shy over a guy–so they decide to give their full support to him.

So they encouraged Arthit to not let himself be defeated by a first-year student, that he should fight for Kongpob if he really likes him.

A fight they said, so a fight he will bring. That's why Arthit texted Kongpob to shoo Sun away, albeit with a threat.

Arthit gave them a few minutes, a chance for Sun not to run laps around the grandstand, and when he's sure Sun isn't in their dorm room anymore, he goes back to their dorm and climbs fast to their floor.

Tonight, maybe he should confess to Kongpob–confess and probably kiss him. Kiss him if he would allow him. Arthit didn't plan ahead, but he wants to do it now. He could've prepared flowers or cooked Kongpob's favorite food–if Sun didn't already buy it for him–but he couldn't be a runner-up in this race. He needs to get the job done.

So outside their room's door, he gathers all his courage for his big confession. He takes a deep breath and fishes his key from his pocket.

But when he opens the door, he blinks his eyes repeatedly.

He's pretty sure he drank less than Tutah and Prem, but why does it feel he's the one drunk now?  
  
  
  
Their room lights are flickering.

And everything is floating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the title of this chapter is from Sponge Cola's Gemini!
> 
> and arthit, prem, and tutah in a bar? it's a gays™ only event


	12. Flicker in Flight (Part 2)

Their room lights are flickering.

And everything is floating.

Something tells Arthit that he should step back, but he just stands there, still deliberating with himself if he should get inside his room. It can be just a faulty electrical connection, right?

No, because that won't explain his things flying around the room.

In another flicker of the lights, he sees Kongpob standing inside. His instinct tells him to run inside and to save him, but when he steps forward, he notices Kongpob's hands.

They remain visible even when the lights are out, and they emit glints of golden light as if they are sparklers.

"Kongpob?" His eyes are wide.

"P'Arthit?" Kongpob didn't notice their door was opened. He was panicking, just like what he's doing now, that he didn't see Arthit standing there witnessing things going crazy all this time.

"Your... your hands!"

Kongpob rests the hands Arthit is referring to at his sides and closes his fists, ignoring their heat. But there's no point in hiding now. Arthit has seen and is seeing everything. The next flicker of the lights comes with a spark, and both Arthit and Kongpob duck to protect themselves.

"Can you explain to me what's happening?!" Arthit shouts while remaining in his position. "What's with your hands, and why are my things flying?!"

"I'm—" Kongpob cannot make a lie right now, because what the hell? What lie can he still make if Arthit already sees everything? He can't make use of the dream excuse now because he's pretty sure Arthit wouldn't believe him anymore. "I will explain everything later, P'!"

"Are you an alien? Do you have powers?! What the fuck, Kongpob?!"

"I'm not!"

"Then, why—! No! My robots!" Arthit shouts as he notices his beloved collection flying around. He steps on his bed to try to catch his floating things, but when he moves his right leg up, he can't put his foot flat on the bed. His next step has Arthit tumbling in the air, and he gets higher and higher every move he makes.

"What the f— What is happening! Aaahh!" He screams as his head hits the ceiling. 

Kongpob runs toward the door to close it. When he comes back to the scene, his face pales. Arthit is really floating along with their things, and he cannot do anything to stop it.

"Is this you? Kongpob?!"

There's no point in lying.

"I am asking if this is because of you!"

"Yes! It's me, but please don't be mad... I can't... I can't control it!" Kongpob feels the first round of tears coming up.

"What are you, Kongpob?!"

He doesn't how to explain it easily, so he just utters it simply, softly. "I'm a witch. My grandmother said I'm a witch."

"Witch?"

The lights spark again.

"Witch. I... I have magick."

Arthit's jaw remains fallen as he processes those words.

Kongpob is a witch.

But is he? Arthit doesn't even believe that witches exist, and now, his roommate whom he happens to have romantic feelings for admits that he is a witch. Arthit shakes his head, but he looks around him. There's no scientific explanation for this. The laws of physics are ignored, and there's no reason for Kongpob to lie that he is a witch. There's nothing he could gain from it.

"P'Arthit, please don't be afraid of me. I can fix this! I just need some time."

Arthit hasn't noticed he's just staring at Kongpob, wide-eyed. Recognizing Kongpob's waiting for his answer, he just nods, but he couldn't ignore the fear that creeps in him right now.

He's up there, not in control of his own body, and he's with a being that's different from him, and that being, considering all the evidence present right now, can possibly hurt him. What if Kongpob is a dangerous witch? What if he transfers from school to school to find victims like him whom he can play with and throw outside the window? What if Kongpob is there to perform voodoo on him? He hasn't been very good to him in the first place,but he's trying to be better now, actually, trying to be more than better. Does that still qualify him to be a bad witch's victim? Right now, Kongpob has his eyes closed, as if preparing to release immense magick, but to Arthit, that might not be good news.

"Kongpob, what are you doing?!"

"I'm trying to stop this!"

"By closing your eyes?"

Kongpob opens his eyes to answer him. "My grandmother said I need to relax and try to contain it." He's obviously still panicking and worried.

Arthit lets Kongpob do whatever he's trying to do. There's nothing he can do to help, anyway. Compartmentalizing his fear at the back of his mind, he stays silent, thinking it would help Kongpob relax. The sooner Kongpob does, the sooner he's gone from the situation he's in right now. And for a few seconds, they achieved real silence.

However, the silence breaks when...

"Kongpob!"

...Arthit screams his name. Kongpob opens his eyes and finds Arthit desperately swimming in the air. He notices where Arthit's body involuntarily moves to—it's heading outside the window.

"Why did you leave it open! Noooo!" Arthit screams as he tries his best to stay inside the room, stroking his arms in the air as if he's in some swimming competition. The prize: his life.

Their room is on the third floor of the building, and if Arthit flies away far enough from Kongpob's magick field, he will surely fall to the ground.

"Kongpob! Help me!" Arthit cries, grabbing on anything he can reach.

Kongpob, of course in panic, runs to him and climbs onto his bed. Using his still-sparkling hand, he reaches for Arthit's hand, and even though Arthit hesitates at first, he grabs it to save his own life.

Arthit holding Kongpob's hand, however, produces a different kind of spark, blue and brighter ones. Arthit's eyes widen with the spectacle. He expects the sparks to hurt, but they don't. Kongpob's hand feels warm against his, but it doesn't hurt. The blue sparks come with wind, and Arthit is afraid he will be thrown out of the window sooner than he expected. He grips Kongpob's hand tighter.

And with that, and after the brightest of all sparks, along with all the things inside their room, Arthit falls, thankfully not on the floor.

Unfortunately, on top of Kongpob.

"Aw!" Arthit whines. He lifts his head and realized in an instant where he is. "Sorry!" he says as he immediately stands up.

"It's alright, P'! I'm not hurt. How about you?" Kongpob approaches him, holding his arms and checking his palms. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Arthit shrugs his arms back from Kongpob. He doesn't look at his eyes, but he speaks in a low voice, "I... I need to go outside."

"P'Arthit..."

But Arthit is already gone before Kongpob is able to appeal.

Kongpob fixes everything in their room. He isn't sure about his arrangement of Arthit's robots, but he's just thankful none of them were damaged. Fixing their room takes him hours, and when he's done, he's so dead-tired and immediately falls asleep.

He wakes up in the middle of the night and sees Arthit on his bed, already sleeping. He checks the time, and it's 2 am. He didn't notice what time Arthit went back. He didn't even expect Arthit to sleep in their room tonight; he just left their room unlocked because he left his key in the doorknob when he entered and witnessed everything.

Kongpob lets out a huge sigh. He doesn't know how to talk to Arthit. Because really, how, exactly, can one talk about himself being a witch? Arthit may have even told somebody else already.

Kongpob's doomed if he did.

Not only will have to leave the university. But he will also have to tell his family so that maybe, just maybe, they can help in erasing their memories, if such a thing is possible.

He grabs one of his pillows and covers his face with it. He, then, screams all his frustrations into it. If only he's a normal person, he wouldn't have to deal with any of this.

The morning after, Kongpob meets the version of Arthit he hates the most, the not-talking, do-what-you-want-and-I'll-do-what-I-want version. When Arthit wakes up, it's evident he does his best not to meet his eye. When Arthit gets out of the bathroom, he does his fastest to dress up even though Kongpob knows his classes today will start past 1 PM.

Kongpob can't do anything but to sigh when Arthit leaves without any word.

~

"Did you do it?" The woman asks.

Sun sits right in front of her, resting his elbows on the table. He takes his cup and loudly sips from it. He puts the cup back on the table and moves his eyes back to the woman. He smirks.  
  


"I did."


	13. Witch Run

  
"Socialize," Namtarn's mother whispers to her ear. "It's not always that I will be here with you. You have to know more of our kind."

"Yes, mae," Namtarn answers after rolling her eyes. She looks around the place, eyeing if there's someone around her age. If she'd be forced to be friends with the other members of the coven, she would choose to be with girls of her age, not with any of the middle-aged women that are currently occupying the place now.

"There, let's say hi to Mrs. Pongpisal," her mother says as she drags Namtarn by her wrist.

Mrs. Pongpisal is a highly esteemed member of their coven. Most of the time, she's a pediatrician, highly regarded in that career as well. As much as possible, she uses no magick to treat her patients, but when she deems necessary, when no one's looking, when it won't be very obvious that a dying child suddenly becomes healthy, she uses a bit of her craft. "They are children," she always says when questioned by the other witches.

"Oh! Is that you?" Ms. Pongpisal gleams when she sees Namtarn. "You grew up to a beautiful woman! I always knew this would happen," she kids.

"She's very pretty since she was young," Namtarn's mother proudly adds. Namtarn can't do anything but give a smile, which she tried her best not to look awkward.

"Do you have a boyfriend now?"

If her mother isn't with her, Namtarn would've already rolled her eyes. She knows Jay, her and Arthit's best friend, likes her. But so far, Jay is being his own disaster. "No," she briefly answers.

"Or a girlfriend?" Mrs. Pongpisal winks.

"No, I have no interest for now. I'm still studying."

"Oh? Too bad, I was about to introduce you to my son. He's good-looking, but of course, he's not like us. If he is, I wouldn't dare to tell you," she laughs.

Namtarn gives her a smile and another awkward smile. She hates being there, obviously.

Despite Namtarn's obvious dislike of the place, her mother still drags her from witch to witch. She meets a flower vendor, a school principal, a lawyer, and a woman with no eyes, which is not entirely true. Her eyes are in her palms. Namtarn's mother tells her she's a seer.

"Your daughter doesn't want to be here," the seer tells her mother when they come to approach her.

Namtarn's mother gives Namtarn a glaring look and smiles at the seer.

"Don't be mad at her," the seer continues. "Aren't we all like her when we first went here?"

Apparently, a woman with no eyes who doesn't know her name is more understanding than her mother.

"Namtarn, such a beautiful name," the seer says. Forget that.

"Thank you," Namtarn clunkily says. The seer and Namtarn's mother talk for a bit, and Namtarn is left at the side nodding and fake-smiling. If this is her mother's idea of immersing her into the witchcraft culture, it's not very effective. In the middle of the conversation, a middle aged-woman approaches the seer. Namtarn's mother bows to her and gestures her daughter to do the same. "High Priestess," she greets her.

"Please call me Vanika."

Namtarn examines the woman her mother called high priestess. She's standing high-heeled, some of her wavy hair sits on her shoulders, and Namtarn would describe her beauty as something regal. She's probably not 40 yet, and so Namtarn wonders why she has the top spot in the hierarchy of the coven.

And oh, she's carrying a black cat.

 _How stereotypical_ , Namtarn thinks to herself.

The women do not hear her, but she notices the cat is directly staring at her. So she does the same, and it doesn't take her a second to notice that the cat is odd-eyed, one is brown and the other is blue. Namtarn finds it cute. She has no pets at home, but she and her friends like visiting cat cafes to play with cats. She's fond of cats. If only her mother would allow her to have a pet.

Namtarn smiles and moves her face closer to the feline creature, which retains its stare at her, but the woman holding it moves away.

"You wouldn't want to play with him," Vanika says.

Namtarn steps back and heeds the warning. The cat might be temperamental or even dangerous. It's a witch's cat after all. She nods at the high priestess, who's currently caressing the cat, which doesn't keep its eyes away from her.  
  
  
  
  
  
~  
"Where is he?" Em complains, standing from his seat because of impatience. "I'm already hungry."

"I already tried calling him, but he's not picking up," Kongpob answers.

"Should we go now?"

"Maybe we should—"

"Sorry I'm late!" Sun says as he pants from his run, banging his bag on the table and sitting slaphappily.

"What took you so long?" Em reclaims the seat beside him.

"I lost my contacts, so I needed to go drop by a mall."

"You wear contacts?" Kongpob is suddenly curious.

Sun blinks repeatedly, suddenly aware that he's wearing one.

"I do. Anyway, let's go. If you want we can skip today's gathering. Let's go eat at the mall now? What do you think?"

Em visibly likes Sun's suggestion. His eyes glimmer as he nods, and he immediately starts packing his things.

But at Sun's opposite side, Kongpob hums. "I think I'll just eat here and stay."

"What for?" Sun and Em ask in chorus.

Since the previous night's incident, Kongpob still hasn't talked to Arthit. They need to talk and have an agreement, and he wouldn't be able to do that if he would avoid him. Arthit needs to see that he's still Kongpob, his roommate, his junior, that nothing has changed, so skipping hazing sessions is not one of his plans.

"Do you really want to stay and be forced to run laps?" Sun interrogates him.

"And do endless push-ups?" Em adds.

"I just don't want P'Arthit to question me later why I didn't join."

Kongpob hears a loud exhale from Sun, who sloppily drops his back on the table. "Fine, let's stay."

"What?" Em, as always, is confused.

"No, you two can go," Kongpob clarifies. "I just don't want P'Arthit to be mad at me. That's my problem."

"Nah," Sun responds. "I won't leave you alone with that bully."

Em scratches his head. He looks at Sun and wonders why he's always so protective of Kongpob. One day, he would confront his new friend to ask if he likes Kongpob. For now, he just needs to deal with facing the hazers again because, apparently, their instant escape plan got canceled also in an instant.

And also, he needs to deal with his hunger. "Can we just eat now?"  
  
  
  
  
~  
It's a typical hazing day. The juniors are all set on the floor while listening to Arthit's monologue of how worthless they are. It's now their everyday thing, and it will last until the foreseeable future.

Kongpob can tell his classmates are being affected by Arthit's words, and he wants them to know that Arthit is not really like this. After weeks of staying with him, Kongpob has concluded that Arthit is a simple, laid-back guy. He's protective and warm, and sometimes even borderline caring. But telling his classmates about the real Arthit will destroy the image the head hazer has successfully built, so Kongpob stays silent and bowed, pretending to accept Arthit's hurtful words.

They still haven't talked. They weren't given a chance, or rather, Arthit didn't give him a chance. Kongpob thinks he's still processing things. What Arthit discovered is not a simple answer to an everyday question, so right now, Kongpob tries to understand. He just hopes this phase won't last long.

"Aren't you afraid of him?" Sun, beside him, speaks. He catches Kongpob staring at Arthit.

"I don't. I know him."

"Yeah, me too. He's an asshole. I can't imagine how you can stand staying with him."

"Sun, I know you won't believe, but he's really nice," Kongpob replies. When Arthit turns, Kongpob meets his eyes, but Arthit quickly avoided the slight eye contact.  
  
  


The previous night, when Arthit went away, he didn't know where exactly to go. The departure was unplanned. He even left his keys in their room. If he plans to go back, he should do it now. But how could he? Discovering his roommate and crush has magickal capabilities isn't how Arthit expected his Thursday night to end.

He knew Kongpob won't hurt him—Kongpob even looked afraid at himself. But the knowledge of Kongpob's true self is too much. He didn't sign up for a roommate. He also didn't sign up to fall for him. And he surely didn't sign up for that roommate he fell for to be a witch.

A witch?

Arthit got intrigued. Aren't witches supposed to be female? He fished his phone, which was thankfully in his pocket, and googled "male witch." Apparently, in several different contexts, male witches exist. Sometimes, they were called wizards or warlocks, but Arthit, later on, knew that those mean different things and that "witch" isn't a gendered word. Reading more made Arthit confused and even scared, so he closed his browser and decided he should directly ask Kongpob instead.

Yeah, right. If he would only manage to convince himself to return to their room before Kongpob locks him out.

He checked the time, and it's already late. He's sure Bright was still awake, but he didn't have the energy to explain why he'd crash his place. He couldn't just tell what he has just discovered to anybody, not even to his friends. Also, his friends might think of him as just being a coward to be in a room with Kongpob after seeking love advice from Tutah and Prem, which, come to think of it, was partly true.

So, no, he wouldn't crash any of his friends' places. Running away, as Arthit realized, was a bad idea. Kongpob might feel he's afraid of him, and he could've already hurt Kongpob when he walked out of their door. After snarking at himself, he quickly turned around and brisked toward their dorm. They should talk, and he should apologize.

But when he returned, the lights were already off (an improvement from the flickering lights earlier), and Kongpob was already asleep. He noticed their things were already arranged and fixed.

He let out a huge sigh. He's too late.

The following morning, when Arthit woke up, he knew to himself he wanted to talk to Kongpob, but for some reason, he couldn't make himself to.

He wanted to say good morning, but instead, he ignored Kongpob's looks and went straight to the bathroom. When he's done showering, he immediately dressed up and went out, without looking at Kongpob, without saying a word.

So much for wanting to talk.

The few drinks he had with Tutah and Prem the night before already lost their effect, and Arthit then realized confessing his feelings, with added magickal details on the side, wouldn't be an easy topic.

"Arthit, are you okay?" Knot asked him during lunch break. "Is it still about him?"

It is, but Arthit shook his head.

"Did you already talk to Kongpob?" Prem asked. He earned a shushing from Tutah and another head-shake from Arthit. Knot and Bright were obviously curious at what Arthit should tell Kongpob, as Arthit saw his friends kicking Tutah's and Prem's feet under the table to extract whatever information they were deprived of.

They just wouldn't understand him, so there's no point in talking.

If he finds a way to force himself, maybe he can do something like—

_Kongpob, I know I was rude last night, and I am sorry for leaving you. I want you to know that I'm not afraid of you. I didn't tell anybody about your secret. And by the way, I am in love with you._

Yeah?

If only it was that easy.   
  
  
  
  
  
Right now, on the stage, in front of the freshmen, Arthit catches himself looking at Kongpob while delivering a litany of how his juniors suck. His friends want to laugh at how Arthit manages to spew rude words while still looking whipped for his crush. If only he has this energy earlier, though.

Kongpob catches him looking, too.

As expected, in natural Arthit fashion, he looks away. He tries his best to look at Kongpob's direction because if he does, Kongpob will surely catch him again, and if that happens, he doesn't know if he can still redeem himself.

But one thing that Arthit learns is that Kongpob and his soft stares are hard to resist. So after seconds of avoiding facing him, Arthit gives up. He faces toward Kongpob's direction again and notices Sun, beside Kongpob, grinning.

"What a smug kid," he mutters to himself. In all honesty, he wouldn't call Sun ugly, but to spare himself from the "ugly" view, he moves his eyes to Kongpob, who appears... struggling?

This makes Arthit inquisitive. Kongpob doesn't look fine. His brows are furrowed, and his fists are clenched. Last night, while walking home, Arthit realizes Kongpob was very lucky to not have his "fits" while outside, but now, could he be?

Arthit stops talking and gets off the stage to come closer to Kongpob. And that's when he notices the clenched fists are hiding glowing palms inside.

"Shit."

He looks around, and all his juniors are all bowed, but his co-hazers are all facing the juniors, which means they are all facing Kongpob, and they will definitely see everything if he doesn't act fast. He also couldn't afford to have his juniors floating because they will surely land with broken bones once Kongpob's fit is done, so he definitely needs to act and do something. But being the normal person that he is, Arthit cannot do much.

All he can do is get Kongpob out of the cheering hall, away from the eyes that might see.

So he goes straight to Kongpob, stops at his front, and kneels.

"Kongpob," he calls, but Kongpob isn't responding.

The other hazers are curious, and Knot brings himself closer to the scene.

"Arthit, what are you doing?" Knot tries his best to make the question as soft as possible, but it still gets some of the juniors' attention.

"Kongpob," Arthit tries again, now grabbing Kongpob's wrist. This time, Kongpob looks up at him, and his eyes are shaking. Arthit hates seeing it. He feels like Kongpob cannot last anymore, so he tugs Kongpob's arm, carefully, to signal him that they should go. Kongpob understands this, so he starts to get up, now fully getting everyone's attention.

The hazers are confused, and the freshmen are gossiping. One moment, their head hazer was talking about how shitty they are as juniors, but the next moment, their head hazer is holding their batchmate's wrist.   
  
  


Their eyes are already wide, but they widen more when they see Arthit pulling Kongpob out of the hall, both running, arms still linked.


	14. Their Secret

  
  
  
Before Kongpob discovered his magickal capabilities, he was known to be someone who has no fear. Every big exam, every sport competition, he faced them with ease. Em envied him for that—he wished he had the same might as his best friend.

But when it hit Kongpob in the face that he's not what he thought he was, the fears started creeping in. Kongpob initially thought his family would shun him, but when it's revealed to him shortly after that his family is practically the reason why he's the way he is, that fear went away.

Then, he was afraid of being caught by anyone who might be in search of anyone that is not considered "normal" in this world. People already fight because of small differences. What more if they find out that somebody is magickal, somebody like him?

Then, he was afraid of entering a new world, college, with his erratic magick. What if one day, one of his "fits" happens while in the middle of the classroom? It already happened when he was with his roommate, and as far as he knows, it didn't end well. If it would happen when he's with his classmates, he wouldn't know what to do.

Just like now.

He's running, but he doesn't know where he's going. His steps are light, and his hand... his hand is being held by someone.

"Kongpob!"

Kongpob blinks, and gradually, he comes back to his senses.

"Kongpob, are you okay?" Arthit asks.

Kongpob blinks repeatedly and tries to recognize where they are.

"We're already far from them," Arthit says. He's still holding Kongpob's hand, his grip tight and warm.

Kongpob looks at their linked arms. His hands now feel vastly different from how they felt earlier. There are no more sparks, and the painful feeling has subsided.

Arthit, aware that Kongpob is staring at how he's still holding his hand, lets go of it. Letting it go, however, suddenly makes his hands out of place, though. He looks around, albeit unnecessarily, since they are at the back of a secluded building. All around them are trees and the huge wall of the storage building.

"P'Arthit?" Kongpob finally speaks. He doesn't know what to say, however.

"I'm pretty sure no one followed us. Don't worry."

Kongpob nods at this. He suddenly realizes what has just happened– he had a fit in the middle of a gathering, and his head hazer slash roommate, who didn't talk to him since the incident last night, got him out of there. He practically saved him.

"Thank you."

"Huh? For what?"

"For saving me."

It's Arthit's turn to repeatedly blink. What he's just done suddenly dawns on him. To Kongpob, he saved him. Arthit touches his nape and forces a smile. He's not prepared to react to things like this. "I just did what I thought was right," he says lamely.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Mad?"

"About last night. You know... the thing that happened, and—"

"That..." Arthit bites his lip. "I wasn't mad at you."

"You aren't?"

"I wasn't, and I'm sorry if I made you think that way... I'm just... Kongpob..."

"I understand."

Arthit takes a deep breath. "I was afraid."

Kongpob's expression suddenly changes.

"No! I mean..." Arthit scratches his face. "I thought I was afraid, but I was just... confused."

Kongpob relaxes his shoulders a bit. "I thought you would go back to not talking to me again."

Arthit feels uncomfortable. He doesn't want to be reminded of how he treated Kongpob back then. "Kongpob, I'm—"

"P'Arthit, please, can I tell you something?"

Arthit shuts up.

Kongpob continues, "I know you didn't really like me that much, and maybe you still don't."

Arthit wants to stop Kongpob there, but he lets Kongpob continue.

"I'm sorry that you are forced to live with me. If there was an available room, believe me, I would've already moved."

All this makes Arthit's heart sink. How much did he hurt Kongpob, really?

"I also didn't want to hurt you last night. Again, I'm sorry." He's silent for a while.   
"And... thank you for helping me earlier. I don't know what would have happened if you didn't get me out of there."

"Your classmates might be floating right now," Arthit kids. He immediately realizes it's not in the right timing, but he sees Kongpob chuckle.

"I guess you're right."

Arthit can't help but smile at this, too, and he takes this as his chance to clear things out. He fakes a cough and looks straight at his junior.

"Kongpob, I said this already. I'm not mad at you."

Kongpob nods.

"And you living with me... I mean, in our room..." Arthit doesn't know how to phrase it, but his heart flutters at the sound of it. "...that thing... it's not a problem. I mean, I like living with you... now." Arthit is unable to stop his lips from curving a smile, and he's pretty sure Kongpob is seeing it. He quickly takes back the smile and searches for words to continue talking. "That... and I don't hate you. I didn't hate you. I was just not expecting a roommate. I just hate change. I am sorry if that translated wrong."

Kongpob nods again.

"And you don't have to look for a different room."

"P'Arthit?"

"You said you would want to move to a different room, and... and I don't want that to happen," Arthit admits.

Kongpob feels Arthit isn't telling him everything he needs to say, but he doesn't know what Arthit could say more at this moment.

"And if you would move, your new roommate might discover our secret."

"Our secret?"

"You... being a magick boy or something. I didn't get you out of there just to let another guy discover what you are."

"I don't get you, P'."

Arthit realizes he's being too obvious. "All I'm saying is, I think it would be better if this stays between us."

Kongpob feels relieved. His worry that Arthit already talked about it to someone is finally gone. Maybe he should have trusted Arthit more. "Yes, I think you're right."

"So... don't go?"

Kongpob smiles at this. "I won't."

Arthit can finally breathe. He really thought Kongpob would find a new place to stay.

"Besides, I don't think there's a vacancy anywhere," Kongpob adds.

Arthit never imagined a time would come that he would want to thank the overpopulation of students on their campus.

"So... you're a witch you say."

Kongpob nods. "Apparently, I am."

"But you're new to this... witch thing, and you can't control your magick?"

He nods again.

"Is it why you have that strange box under your bed?"

There's another nod.

"And the blinding light during your first night... that's not a dream."

Kongpob feels ashamed, but he nods again. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I didn't know how to tell you, and–"

"I get it."

Kongpob breathes out, relieved.

"I probably would have done the same, if that were me."

"Thanks for understanding."

"And so... is your family... a witch family?

Arthit doesn't receive a quick answer. Kongpob, he thinks, is probably not comfortable talking about this.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. If you don't want to share, I'll respect that."

"Just my grandmother and me. It actually came as a surprise because I'm male and they said witches right now are rare."

"There are more?"

Since Arthit already aware of what he really is, and he's apparently okay with it, Kongpob's about to tell him everything he knows, but he sees Arthit taking his phone from his pocket, so he stops himself from answering the question.

"Shit. It's Knot," Arthit whispers. He was so preoccupied that he forgot he literally left a whole batch of students in the middle of a gathering. Kongpob suddenly feels guilty.

Arthit picks up the call and steps away to talk to his friend.

Kongpob is left there at his position, thinking of the possible scenarios that might have happened while they're gone. Although he's grateful for what Arthit has done, he suddenly becomes aware of what his classmates might be thinking right now. He doesn't even know what to tell Em and Sun.

He's deep in his thoughts when Arthit returns to him.

"What happened, P'Arthit? Will you be in trouble?"

"I don't think so. Knot covered for me, but..."

"But what?"

"He's asking for an explanation."

"I'm sorry, P'."

"Hey, it's fine."

Kongpob doesn't know how, but Arthit right now seems so sincere. He's sincere that everything is really fine, and he's not blaming Kongpob for causing him trouble.

Kongpob looks away to think. Of course, they have to explain. The head hazer suddenly storming out of a gathering and dragging a junior outside is not a regular thing that just happens.

"Tell them you commanded me to run laps," Kongpob blurts out.

"What?"

But wait. That could work–Arthit was scolding his juniors for disappointing him before the incident, so he could simply say he dragged Kongpob outside to punish him.

That would make him seem ruthless, but that's the image he's trying emulate, so that shouldn't be a problem.

That alibi won't work with his friends, though. Kongpob's suggestion would work to Arthit's friends if they do not know anything about Arthit's feelings for Kongpob. But his friends, they know how he's head over heels over him—Knot is the recipient of all his panics, and Prem and Tutah already saw him cry over him. There's no way they'd believe that excuse.

But right now, he's in front of Kongpob, who needs not to know everything. Arthit should appear in control.

"I guess we can do that," Arthit lies. He takes a deep breath and grabs Kongpob's wrist again, to the latter's surprise. "Let's go?"

Kongpob, still caught off-guard, isn't able to do anything but to nod and follow where Arthit leads him to. Their linked arms aren't necessary right now, but somehow, Kongpob doesn't feel anything wrong with it.

And while getting dragged by Arthit, Kongpob suddenly gets flooded with memories of those times Arthit held his hand.

And that's when he comes to the realization that Arthit didn't only save him by getting him out of the cheering hall.

Arthit's soup bowl, Arthit holding his hand last night, and Arthit doing it just a few minutes ago... all his recent magickal fits...

...they all stop whenever Arthit's presence is with him.

Kongpob stops his steps, which halts Arthit as well.

"Kongpob? We need to go back now."

At first, Kongpob really thought Arthit is his constant, but the seer's words convinced him to think otherwise. Evidence pointed to Sun. However, everything that has happened lately... they should mean something.

"Are you okay? Is it coming again?" Arthit asks, shaking his arm.

Kongpob snaps out of it. This is no place and time to think.

  
"I'm okay," he breathily answers, as he moves his fingers to hold Arthit's hand in return.


	15. How It Works

When Arthit returns to the cheering hall, all the juniors have been dispersed. He asks Kongpob to join his friends as Arthit can't be seen with him by his own group.

After unlinking their arms and saying a short and extremely awkward goodbye, Arthit goes straight to the hazers' headquarters, and there he finds his friends, who are visibly vexed by him. He slows down his steps, but Bright pushes him to his seat.

Arthit expected to be interrogated, and that's exactly what he's thinking he's in right now.

"Would you care to explain what happened, Arthit!?" Knot says after locking the door.

Arthit has already thought about it. There's no way he will tell his friends the truth. The secret is his and Kongpob's to keep, and if someone would decide who gets to know the truth, it should be Kongpob, not him.

"I made him run 54 lapses around the field."

"I don't believe you," Tutah says in a flat tone.

"Did you kiss 0062 behind an old building?" Bright questions him.

"Like how you did it with your other boys?" Tutah adds.

Of course, he didn't expect his friends to believe his lie. There's no way he would ask the guy he's interested in to run 54 lapses around the field under the blazing sun for no reason. And even if there's a valid reason, his friends know Arthit will find a way for Kongpob not to suffer like that.

"Fine, yes, I tried to kiss him behind the storage building."

His friends gasp with his revelation. Given that he already has a history of kissing boys in hidden places, this lie would be more believable. His friends' mood suddenly changes from being betrayed to being overly curious.

"Arthit, did you really do it?" Knot asks.

"Did he kiss you back?!" Prem adds.

"Did you do more than kissing?" Bright, of course, asks.

It suddenly dawns Arthit that this might not be a good idea.

"No, I said I just tried. We didn't really kiss."

"Huh?" His friends collectively react.

"I asked if I could... kiss him..." Arthit blushes with the thought. "...but—"

"He rejected you," Tutah continues for him, left eyebrow raised.

"No!"

"So you kissed?"

"N-no! He didn't really reject me. He just... he just— You know what?" Arthit crosses his arms. "I don't have to explain this," he blurts out. Lying is difficult—he realizes that. He can't say anything that would put him and Kongpob in a difficult situation, so he decides to keep the mystery as it is. It really is mystery, after all.

"So what is the truth?!" His friends are starting to get irritated.

"Just think that... that I still have a chance. That's it."

Bright whistles, and the others start sitting down.

"Fine, you don't need to tell everything to us," Prem says.

"But what you did earlier is a big no, Arthit," Knot is serious again. "You were in the middle of a hazing session."

"I know that," Arthit answers, voice low.

"Control your libido next time," Bright says.

"What?! No!" Shakes his head and hand at Bright's face at the same time. "I don't think of Kongpob like that!" Arthit panics. His lie really got out of hand.

"Sure, sure," Tutah says, rolling eyes. "Good thing you didn't force yourself on him."

Arthit calms down. He bites his lip and nods. He can't look at any of his friends' eyes.

"You said you still have a chance," Prem breaks the silence. "What will you do to win him, then?"

Arthit glances at Prem before avoiding his eyes again. He may have told them a lie, but him still having a chance is still part of the truth.

And to Prem's question, he has an answer. 

~

"Won't Kongpob join us?" Sun asks Em. They are in the popular sushi place near the city proper. Em wanted to eat Korean barbecue, but Sun insisted they should go eat sushi. Em doesn't want his food only slightly cooked, but Sun is paying, so he's in no place to push what he wants.

It's been a week since the cheering hall incident, and while the various rumors explaining what happened have started to die down, including one that says Kongpob and Arthit are dating and kissed behind an old building, Sun still feels very concerned about it. Overly, for that matter.

"He said he has something important to do," Em answers.

"Do you think he needs our help? Should we go and visit him?"

Em laughs at him. "I don't think we should go. See, I don't really believe Kongpob really needs to do something important."

Sun furrows his eyebrows.

"He probably just wants to spend time with his boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?"

"Hey, hey," Em laughs again. "I am still not sure about that. But the rumor that he and P'Arthit are dating can be true."

Sun stabs his sushi with his chopsticks. "And you believe that?!"

Em is taken aback by the change in Sun's tone, but he tries to answer him calmly. "I don't know what to believe, honestly. But it's not impossible... I mean, nothing could explain why P'Arthit did what he did during the gathering..." Em looks up, thinking of other reasons that can explain his point. "Besides, they are roommates, so they could have developed feelings inside those four walls—we don't know."

"And is that all right for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Kongpob is your best friend, our best friend, and he's keeping a secret from us."

"Hey, if it's true, I understand why Kongpob keeps it a secret."

"Even from you?"

The emphasis on Em makes him pause. He understands that Kongpob may have his reasons, but he can't help but feel in the dark regarding his best friend right now. 

"Yes, even from me," he softly answers.

~

Of all the possible scenarios Kongpob imagined he'd end up in after Arthit discovers his capabilities, the circumstance he's in right now is surely not one of them.

He's standing in the middle of his room, surrounded by blue and green pillows, his and Arthit's pillows. Arthit, in front of him, is wearing his eager face.

"What are you waiting for, Kongpob?"

"I'm not sure if I should do this, P'."

"What do you mean? How will you learn to control your magick if you're not even trying?"

Kongpob swallows. He's thankful that Arthit is now supporting him. He was worried his roommate would hate him more, but Arthit has been very understanding and caring. It came all of a sudden that Kongpob is now wondering what changed. He just feels awkward to ask. Nevertheless, he can't deny that sharing his secret with Arthit makes him feel somehow reassured. Of all people, Arthit accepted him. Maybe, his other friends would too, if ever it comes to that.

However, it doesn't change the fact that Arthit is asking him to use his magick voluntarily right now. At that, Kongpob feels uneasy. He's never tried this before. He was too afraid because he didn't know what could happen. Making things float isn't a problem, but what if he starts a fire or hurts someone?

"P', can you step back farther? I don't want to hurt you."

Arthit sighs but follows Kongpob's request. "I know you won't hurt me, Kong."

Kong. That sounds new coming from him. Kongpob's pretty sure he didn't tell Arthit to call him like that. Only his closest friends call him by that name. But now that Arthit knows his secret, maybe Kongpob can now consider him as one of those close friends.

Or maybe even more.

Kongpob's thoughts about that day still remain. The seer told him someone, his constant, his familiar, would help him. What the help is for, Kongpob doesn't know. All he knows is that his familiar could either be Sun or Arthit.

Right now, however, only one between the two is helping him, and that's—

"Any time now, Kong."

Kongpob lets out another sigh and closes his eyes. Maybe, Arthit is right. Maybe, he should stop being afraid of what he is and start confronting his other self, himself, that he keeps on hiding.

He stands there, not knowing what to do. Should he think hard, hard enough for his magick to be channeled to his hands? That could be possible. He opens his eyes to peak at Arthit, who's still enthusiastically anticipating in front of him. Around them are their things, all secured by adhesive tapes. With everything float-proofed, they are seeing no material casualties, aside from their pillows and Arthit himself.

Kongpob closes his eyes again.

If he won't do it now, he might never try it again. So he starts digging deep, remembering how it felt like when he first felt it, at his home, then during the times in the same room he is in now, those random fits when Arthit wasn't looking, then during that time at the cheering hall...

In his memory, the feeling was hot—it felt like electric charges in his veins, all of that while also feeling like he's drowning. It was like an oil spill in an ocean, and Kongpob was in it. He was drowning and burning at the same time.

And the memories suddenly feel like they're not just memories.

"Kongpob! It's working!"

Kongpob opens his eyes and sees Arthit smiling. His gaze moves toward his own hands, and they are sparkling and glowing, glowing with white and sparkling with gold. At that moment, Kongpob felt proud. It's the first time he feels like he's in control.

Arthit picks up a pillow and uses it as a shield. Then, he steps towards Kongpob, but Kongpob steps back.

"It might be dangerous! I still don't know how to make this work!"

Arthit is about to ignore Kongpob and step closer, but he notices the other pillows around them moving. As they expected, things start to float. Their lights then turn themselves on, and they appear brighter than ever, despite right now being daytime.

"P'Arthit, I can't do it!"

Arthit almost blurts out his disagreement, but suddenly he feels light. Now, he's starting to regret why he didn't tape himself on the wall.

"Kongpob, try to control it!"

"I don't know how to!" Kongpob answers, eyes shut closed. The pillows around them do not only float—they fly around the room, and Arthit has to dodge them with the pillow he's holding. The lights, on the ceiling and on Kongpob's hands, are glowing brighter and brighter.

"You have to!" Arthit shouts back. He's not yet entirely floating, his feet are still on the floor, but he can feel something pulling him up.

Kongpob knows Arthit is right, but even though how much he convinces himself of that fact, he just doesn't know what to do.

Or does he?

At that moment, flashes of similar situations come back flooding his mind.

And suddenly, he has an idea.

It should work. If it worked before, it should work now. It was a theory, a theory he was contemplating of testing, but no chance was given.

Until now.

He opens his eyes and finds Arthit, still in front of him, ducking to avoid the airborne pillows above his head. Without giving Arthit a warning, Kongpob steps toward him and grabs his arm. It shocks Arthit. He takes a look at Kongpob's eyes and, all of a sudden, the pulling feeling is gone.

The pillows stop flying around, but they remain floating. The lights start to dim until they're manageable to look at.

Kongpob's theory is right.

One by one, with a whisk of his available hand, Kongpob sends each of their pillows to their respective beds, the blue ones to Arthit's bed, the green ones to his.

Arthit's jaw remains hanging out of amazement.

He hasn't recovered yet, but he's able to utter, "Kongpob, did you just—"

Kongpob, still gripping on Arthit's arm, nods. 

"I think I now know how it works."


	16. Holding Hands

_P'Arthit, I'm already here_

That's the text Arthit reads right before raising his hand to call his professor's attention. 

For some time, he wanted to get Kongpob's number. There's really no point in it since they literally live in one room, but he just feels a little distant from Kongpob whenever he remembers he doesn't have his number. He could have asked it from Kongpob using the reason of "just in case I forget my key," but Kongpob has beaten him to it. After the events of Kongpob discovering how to control his magick (Arthit helping him control his magick), he asked for Arthit's number, so now, whenever Kongpob feels his magick is about to blow up, he texts Arthit.

Arthit isn't one to disturb everyone in the middle of a discussion, but this situation is different. He's urgently needed right now.

"May I go to the restroom?" He lies to his professor.

When Arthit gets the signal from his professor to go, he rushes out the door, ignoring the suspicious looks his friends have on him.

"He's going out again?" Bright whispers to Tutah, who smirks.

"And we know exactly where he'll go."

~

"Kong! Sorry if I'm late! I was in the middle of class and—"

Arthit swallows the rest of his words as he feels Kongpob sliding his fingers between his. It still gives his heart a drumming feeling even though they've already done it earlier this morning and even in the past few days.

"You know, I actually feel guilty for disturbing you," Kongpob says, mousy.

Arthit still doesn't understand why and how it is possible, but he believed Kongpob when he said that he himself can help with Kongpob's magick. Their linked hands right now prove it, so even though everything's still a mystery to them, he accepts the task.

The task involves holding the hand of the guy he likes in a secluded place, at the back of an old building, where Arthit first brought Kongpob to hide, so, really, there's no reason for Arthit to say no. He just has to ignore the fluttering feeling in his chest, but so far, he's doing good.

"Hey, I told you it's fine. I'm the only one who can help you, and you can't afford everyone knowing your secret, right?" Arthit says, desperately trying to stop the smirk in his lips as his palm feels the warmth of Kongpob's own.

"Thank you."

Arthit is looking forward to cherishing the moment he is in right now, but Kongpob appears deeply discomfited right now, so he has to start a conversation. "How are you feeling now?"

"Better," Kongpob answers shortly right after.

"Hmm. Did someone see it earlier?"

"No. Em almost caught my book floating, but I told him it's just the wind."

"And he believed you?"

Kongpob chuckles at this. "He's not the smartest."

Arthit is pleased. At least, he made him chuckle. This set up is okay. They should be okay. 

"I figured." Arthit fake frowns. " But, Kongpob, you need to be more careful. Have you asked your grandmother about it? This thing, what's happening to you, it's is getting more frequent."

"I did," Kongpob sighs. "But she said nobody helpful could answer our questions. Apparently, the witches are having gatherings nowadays."

"Gatherings? What are witches supposed to be gathering for?"

~

Namtarn enters the room alone once more. Her mother is busy with her office work, and, as she has expected, she was asked to still go, even if she'll be all by herself. Namtarn could have said no, but it's going to be an official gathering of the members of the coven, and her mother will surely be mad at her if she dared say no.

"What could these witches be gathering for?" Namtarn mutters to herself.

Namtarn stops her thoughts when she reaches the hall. Seats are provided unlike before, and a stage with a podium and a projector is prepared. Somehow, Namtarn gets reminded of the time her high school principal would call for an assembly just to discuss their school's latest achievements. No one listened to that principal, she remembers. 

The hall has considerably more people than the other times she went. This, really, should be an official gathering. She looks around and picks the rightmost seat in the last row, six seats away from her nearest co-witch.

A few minutes of waiting later, she notices everyone taking their seats. She lifts her head from her phone and notices the woman with the black cat she met last time, the one her mother called the high priestess. The woman gets on the stage and approaches the microphone.

"High Priestess, your powerfulness," all the witches chant in unison.

"Weirdos," Namtarn whispers to herself.

"Good evening fellow powerfuls," the high priestess, Vanika, greets the room.

Namtarn rolls her eyes and decides to stop paying attention. She really can't stand this place. If only her mother didn't threaten to cut her allowance, she wouldn't be here. She goes back to the game she's playing. She scores more points and kills more of the opponents' heroes when words from the speaker catch her attention.

"We now have a visual of the anomaly." Vanika faces the projector slightly behind her, as do the rest of the crowd. In a second, a face flashes on the screen.

It's the face of a young man smiling at the camera. The sleeve of a white uniform similar to what the young man is wearing gives it away that the photo is cropped. Nobody in the room knows who the man is, but they are all equally shocked by how young he is. He's probably a university student as his clothes suggest.

Namtarn questions why she's looking at a guy wearing her university's uniform right now. She didn't take these witches to talk about a teenage boy. And why are they calling him _the anomaly?_

"For now, he's harmless," Vanika speaks again. "I have someone guarding him, but we're not sure until when he'll keep this tameness."

Murmurs are heard all around.

"Nothing to worry about," she continues. "The one guarding him is ready to kill."

Louder murmurs arise, but Namtarn's voice overpowers them all. "Kill?!"

A few other witches rows in front of her turn their heads at her, and the high priestess notices her too. She smiles at Namtarn before putting her lips near the microphone again.

"If it has to come to that."

~

"May I go to the restroom?" Arthit holds his hand up.

"Mr. Rojnapat, we just started the lesson. You should've—" The professor rolls her eyes. "Fine. You have five minutes."

In a flash, Arthit storms out the door and runs to his and Kongpob's usual place. This has become an everyday thing. Some days, he's even asked to come out twice or more. Arthit should be complaining. He has his own studies and hazing plans to worry about. But this is Kongpob.

And he can't say no to Kongpob.

It's not always that he can ignore his friends' suspicious eyes. They are all waiting for an update about his and Kongpob's relationship. They think there's development since they always see the two together. But right now, Arthit has nothing to share, nothing non-magick-y, to be exact. Right now, his priority is to keep Kongpob's secret safe, and if it would have to come to the point that Arthit would be needed to seat in the freshmen's classroom, then so be it.

"I hope you'll feel better soon because the professor only gave me five minutes," he says, panting, right after arriving at their usual place. He quickly extends his hand to Kongpob, which the latter is so quick to take.

"I should really practice controlling this on my own," Kongpob says, eyes low.

"We can practice on Saturday?" Arthit suggests, although it sounds more like a question.

"Maybe, in the afternoon. I have to buy something for my project."

Arthit widens his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"What do you mean, P'?"

"You'll go out alone?"

"Yes?"

"What would you do if you get a fit there?"

Kongpob has no real answer. He only looks up and mutters, "I'll just hope it won't happen while I'm out."

Suddenly, there's a turmoil inside Arthit. This a chance he should take. He didn't expect he can move forward like this easily. This opportunity is perfect. He won't be really asking him out on a date, right? This is just to help Kongpob, _just in case_ something happens _._

But the words are stuck inside his mouth.

"I think I'm okay now. Thank you, P'Arthit."

Arthit swallows the words he can't pronounce. "Huh?"

"The feeling in my hands, it's gone. You should go back to your class now. It's almost five minutes."

Kongpob is right. He has to go, but he still has something to tell.

"Uhm, Kongpob..."

"Yes, P'?"

Arthit takes a deep breath and pukes all the words out. "If you want to, I can join you this Saturday."

He's unsure if Kongpob caught it with how fast he said it.

There's silence after that. Arthit thought Kongpob completely missed it since he got no quick answer. For sure, Kongpob will ask what it is, and Arthit wouldn't be able to say it again—

"Will it be okay?" But Kongpob heard him. Kongpob's reaction looks eagerly grateful but, at the same time, shy. "I don't want to be much of a bother."

Arthit is not doing any better. His cheeks are starting to redden, and he has to get out of here before Kongpob notices it. "Y-yes... yes, it's okay. Don't worry about it. So Saturday?"

Kongpob gives Arthit a closed-lip nod. "Okay, Saturday it is."

And with that, Arthit storms off, unrestraining his lips from smiling, completely forgetting that he's over the time limit given by his professor now. 


	17. Signs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! i finally published this. i wrote a wholly different chapter 17, but i didn't like how it turned out, so i started all over again. also, i'm halfway through writing chapter 18, so you won't need to wait very long :))
> 
> thanks for your patience, and i hope you all stay safe and healthy!

"It shouldn't take us more than an hour," Kongpob says as they step into the mall entrance.

All week, Arthit thought Kongpob would forget that he and Kongpob would _go out_ today, convincing himself of the possibility that Kongpob might back out or change his plans. But come Saturday morning, this morning, when Kongpob asked him if he'd still come with him, he got out of the bed quickly and prepared, getting in his Che Guevarra shirt and ripped jeans. Not that he would tell Kongpob, but he woke up early for this, even though he was doubting if they'd still go.

Arthit hums. He doesn't really mind if it would take them more than an hour. Heck, he even wants to stay here longer, maybe watch a film after buying Kongpob's stuff and have dinner afterwards. However, he can't just say any of those. He simply follows Kongpob's steps, ready just in case he's needed.

Last night, while he's waiting for sleep to visit him, as he stares at Kongpob's blanketed silhouette, a question hit him:

Is Kongpob using him?

In a way, one can say yes. Arthit cannot argue with that. But Arthit does it willingly. He even volunteers to do it. And it's not really that Arthit isn't getting anything in return. Every time Kongpob needs him to hold his hand, Arthit gets comforted in return. He gets the warm feeling his been yearning for ever since he realized he likes Kongpob.

And every time Arthit feels Kongpob's soft hand, he sees how Kongpob's lips sometimes form a smile, giving him a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, Kongpob feels the same way toward him. And that massive feeling Arthit gets from simply feeling the skin of Kongpob's palm is enough of a payment for Arthit.

So at the end of the thought, before Arthit finally closed his eyes, he convinced himself that what he's doing, what they're doing, is okay—

Kongpob needs him, and he wants Kongpob.

And that's all that matters.

Arthit hovers over Kongpob, trailing wherever he goes. Now, they are in a supplies store. Kongpob mentioned he needs to buy colored markers and graphing sheets. Kongpob walks to the next shelf as Arthit busies himself with his phone, reading Bright's announcement that they should get drunk tonight.

Arthit is about to send a reply saying he can't go when Kongpob swiftly slides to him and grabs his hand.

"A row of pens moved when I passed by them," Kongpob whispers.

Arthit tightens his fingers in response. "Are you okay?" He asks. He looks around to see if anybody is seeing them. It's their first time doing this in public, and while what they're doing is normalized, to an extent, now, he still worries about it.

"I am. How about you?" Kongpob asks back. "Are you... uncomfortable?"

Arthit quickly shakes his head in response. "No."

"I see it in your face," Kongpob murmurs. "Honestly, I am okay with pretending that we're boyfriends, but if you're feeling uncomfortable, we can go home now."

Pretending as boyfriends? What the heck is that?

Arthit intensifies his headshake, ignoring Kongpob's remark. He'll deal with it later when he's alone. "I'm okay. I'm just... new to this."

Kongpob chuckles. "Me too. I never had a boyfriend, so I don't know how it feels like to hold another guy's hand in public."

"How about a girlfriend?" Arthit's question comes fast.

"I also never had one."

Somehow, Arthit's heart jumped with the thought that Kongpob mentioned a hypothetical boyfriend and that he never had a girlfriend. His chances increased from zero percent to one percent.

He looks away to hide his forming blush, and that's when he notices a woman three shelves away staring at them.

While he's completely aware that the woman might be judging them, he still has a feeling she isn't. The woman didn't seem disgusted. She was just plainly staring at them before Arthit caught her eyes.

There's no way Arthit would know what she's thinking, but she's really making him feel uncomfortable.

"Are you ready, Kong?" He asks, wanting to get out of the place.

Kongpob nods and unlinks their hands. Arthit feels his empty palm as he follows Kongpob to the cashier. If it isn't because of the woman, he should still be holding him right now.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Let's grab lunch before heading home," Kongpob announces as they exit the store.

Arthit gives him short nods. Though, actually, deep inside, he's screaming like a stepped-on duck. While they skip the "movie" part of his imagined itinerary, he's already more than giddy that they will be having lunch together. Not that they never did that before. They started doing it during weekends when both of them are in their room, and they sometimes do it, albeit in hiding, on their campus, in other faculties' cafeterias, but they never went out to eat together. And that's what makes Arthit smile.

"Why are you smiling, P'?"

Arthit halts his musings and takes back his smile that reflexively escaped. "I'm just...

_Happy_

"hungry."

"Oh, I shouldn't have kept you waiting. Let's go now. Do you have a place in mind?

Arthit fake-roams his eyes around the area, pretending he doesn't already have this exact moment visioned. He already wanted to bring Kongpob to his favorite noodle house and let him taste better food, not the bland soups Kongpob usually orders. "Uhmm... I know this noodle house. Their dumplings are the best."

Kongpob agrees in an instant, and they run toward the place. They wait for a few minutes before the receptionist calls them in and leads them to a vacant table.

As expected, Kongpob orders his bland food, so Arthit proceeds with his plan. When their order arrives, right after the waiter leaves, Arthit stops Kongpob from dipping his spoon into his soup and gets his bowl.

"P'?"

Arthit, then, moves his own bowl towards Kongpob and smiles at him.

"I want you to taste this."

"But, P'Arthit, I ordered that one."

"But I want you to try to stewed pork here. It's so good. Finish it if you like it."

Kongpob stares at him but doesn't answer. He scoops a spoonful of soup to taste the food Arthit pushes him to eat.

Arthit is right. It tastes good, and it shows on Kongpob's face. And Arthit can't be more pleased.

However, during the course of their lunch, Arthit notices Kongpob is quieter than usual. Sometimes, he catches Kongpob staring at him, but looks away right after he gets caught, like he's avoiding him. He wants to ask him about it. Maybe Kongpob doesn't really like the food. Or maybe he's worried about something. Maybe he wants to ask something. But Arthit, being Arthit, keeps his questions to himself.

Instead, he decides to look away. And when he turns to his left, he notices a woman, another woman, looking at them. He glances back at Kongpob, who's evidently unaware that somebody's watching them. Arthit turns back at the woman, but she's not on her seat anymore.

"P'Arthit?"

"Huh?"

"What happened?"

"There's a woman watching us."

"Huh? Where?" Kongpob looks around.

"She's gone."

"Maybe she's just looking. I mean, you and I, we... you know... both of us aren't the ugliest."

"Kongpob!"

"I know how I look, P'... and you too."

 _Me too?_ Arthit is about to ask him what he means and maybe ask if he means they look good together, but he notices Kongpob's uneasy expression again, so he decides not to.

Besides, he can't stop thinking about the woman, the two women, he caught staring at them today.  
  
  
  
  
  


~

"Do you want to take a shower first?" Kongpob asks him soon after they go back inside their room. They left the mall after having their lunch, and Arthit had to endure an almost silent treatment from Kongpob. On their way to their dorm, he's wondering if he did something wrong. 

"Yeah, but if you want to use the bathroom first, you may. I'm still texting my friend."

Kongpob extends his neck to try to see whom Arthit is texting, but he only sees an "N" in the friend's name before Arthit walks away toward his bed.

"Are we still on?" Kongpob asks.

Arthit looks up.

"The practice. Will you still help me?"

"Oh, of course." Arthit smiles. "After we freshen up. I don't have anything to do today."

And so Kongpob gets in their bathroom and does his thing, as Arthit continues texting his friend. A few exchanges later, his phone rings:

"Namtan?"

"..."

"What?"

"..."

"I'm not sure."

"..."

"Tomorrow?"

"..."

Arthit sighs. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

"P'Arthit? Whom will you meet tomorrow?"

Arthit turns as Kongpob gets out of the bathroom. And the view that he sees leaves Arthit unable to answer Namtan's question about whose voice she has heard.

Kongpob has a towel wrapped around his waist. And Arthit thanks all the gods that he gets to view the lines of his back as he closes the door behind him. He uses a second towel to shake out his hair, frowning at the effort, but still looking ridiculously gorgeous to Arthit's eyes.

Arthit can't help himself. He pictures himself running toward Kongpob, running his hands through his thick but soft hair. Arthit gets more lost in his own thoughts.

He closes his eyes and smiles. For a moment, he swears it must be obvious how at Kongpob's mercy he is. But would Kongpob be comfortable if he'd do it? Drying his hair for him?

He doesn't know.

All he knows is that it would make himself feel great, doing that mundane thing of rubbing the towel against Kongpob's hair.

"P'Arthit?"

Arthit wakes up from his hallucination. "Y—yes?"

"You don't need to do this. I can dry my own hair."

And it suddenly dawns on him. He's literally holding Kongpob's towel, rubbing it against his head. Poor Kongpob is clueless about his actions.

"I'm sorry, Kong! I'm just—"

Kongpob feels Arthit's panic as his face reddens and his eyes shake. So Kongpob holds his arm. He isn't aware he's giving Arthit more reasons to freak out right now.

Arthit tries to find words that he could use as an answer, but really? No words can help him explain whatever he has done.

He can't even lift his head to look at Kongpob in the eyes. And because of that, he can't see how fond Kongpob is at him right now.

Arthit looks so helpless that Kongpob needs to do something before he passes out. "Forget it, P'. Do you want to use the bathroom now?"

Without any answer, Arthit rushes to the bathroom and locks himself in. And at the state of how things are going right now, it looks like Arthit won't come out until later.   
  
  


Seems like they have to postpone their magick practice to another day. 


	18. Kongpob, Arthit, and the Technicolor Jacket

  
  
Contrary to Kongpob's expectation, Arthit comes out of the bathroom, although he comes out after an hour. Kongpob is willing to pretend he isn't curious about why Arthit suddenly went near him and dried his hair, but Arthit does an even more commendable pretense, visibly faking that nothing happened.

"Are you ready now, Kong?"

Kongpob is amused. Long ago, he tried to dismiss the signs he was noticing, but recently, he can't ignore them anymore. Arthit's glances at him are getting stickier; when they talk, his voice gets softer and softer.

Kongpob said that it's impossible. Arthit hated him. He can't just change like that. But the evidence is glaring.

Arthit might like him.

At the mall earlier, he was thinking about it. Arthit said he has never held a guy's hand in public. He was his first. And when he said that, Kongpob felt happy. But Kongpob isn't sure about his actual feelings toward his senior.

Maybe he likes Arthit too.

But he's unsure if he likes him because he really likes him, or he only likes him because right now, they are connected.

Because right now, he needs Arthit.

He needs to be sure. Because if he doesn't like Arthit and only thinks so because he needs him, he would only hurt him, and he doesn't want to do that.

"I am." Kongpob smiles. "So, what will we do today?"

Arthit continues faking it, his eyes uncharacteristically wide. "Up to you. You're the one with magic here."

And so they begin. Holding Arthit's hand, Kongpob cracks the knuckles of his other hand and waves it over his bed. In an instant, his bed gets fixed, not a single crease on his bedsheet.

"Awesome," he hears Arthit whisper.

"Let's try it again on my bed, but this time, I won't hold your hand," says Arthit.

Reluctantly, Kongpob agrees. Arthit slowly lets go, and Kongpob waves his hand over his bed.

But this time, to no one's surprise, everything on his bed went flying. Even the things around Arthit's bed get knocked down.

"My robots!" Arthit runs to his things and checks if something is destroyed. Kongpob, left at the foot of his bed, scratches his head.

Kongpob follows Arthit and tugs at his arm, asking him to stand up. Arthit obliges and once again slips his hands to Kongpob's.

Kongpob knows what he needs to do. To fix what he's done to his roommate's bed, he hovers his hand to it and waves it one more time. This time, Arthit is grounding him, so he's sure he'll do no more damage.

And in one swift motion, Arthit's bed gets fixed. All of his things are returned to their places, and his robots are back on their shelves.

Arthit hums. "It appears you still need me to properly use your magick."

Kongpob sighs. "Right."

"Then, that should be what we should practice."

"What?"

"You using your magick without me. I still don't know why I'm connected with you, but that should not be the case always."

Kongpob frowns, and Arthit bites his lip.

"No! It's not what I mean. What I mean is that you need to do this independently. It's not always that I'll be with you. What if you'd need to use your magick and I'm not there?"

"I don't think I need to use my magick anywhere but here."

"You wouldn't know that, Kongpob. What if something bad happens?"

"Nothing bad would happen, P'."

"I'm just saying! What if evil witches try to attack you, and I'm not there?"

"Now, P'Arthit, you're joking."

"Fine. But you still need to learn how to do it by yourself. Uhm..." Arthit looks around, trying to find something to experiment on. His eyes land on the workshop jacket hanging by his closet. He gets it and lays it down on Kongpob's bed.

"Let's try," Arthit says.

Kongpob scratches his head but complies. He stands up and gets beside his roommate. "What should we do?"

"No, it's what _you_ should do."

Kongpob hears Arthit humming again, and he would lie if he'd say the sound isn't adorable.

"Change its color," Arthit says.

"What?"

"Change its color while holding my hand. Then, we'll try different positions later."

"P'?!"

"No, no! That's not what I mean!" Arthit's cheeks redden. "I mean... my hands! I'll try different positions with my hands touching you!"

Kongpob laughs. "That's not any better."

"Kongpob!"

Kongpob is still laughing, but he nods his head in agreement. "Okay, okay, I'll do it." Kongpob doesn't know why he's just noticing it now, but Arthit looks adorable whenever he's flustered.

Arthit grabs Kongpob closer to the jacket. "Turn it into blue."

"Are you sure you want to use your workshop jacket for our practice?"

" _Your_ practice. And don't worry, I know you're not gonna fuck it up." Arthit now holds his hand and gestures to the maroon jacket on the bed. "Do it."

Kongpob sighs. He hovers his hand over the jacket and closes his eyes. Arthit patiently waits for the change to happen.

Kongpob opens his eyes and looks at Arthit. "What color do you want again?"

"Anything! Just change it!"

Kongpob chuckles again.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing, P'. I just noticed... you look cute when you're angry."

Arthit's cheeks haven't recovered from its reddening earlier, but a new flush of red attempts to take over. He purses his lips to stop them from smiling, but it makes his cheeks fluffier, making Kongpob smile wider as a result.

They remain standing, holding hands, both of their hearts fluttering, for a while before Kongpob fakes a cough to cut Arthit's misery (or daydreaming).

"So, blue?"

"Yeah, yeah, blue would look good."

With this, Kongpob closes his eyes again. He tightens his grip on Arthit's hand and lets his energy flow through his arm.

He thinks he isn't done yet when Arthit tugs him. "Kongpob, look!"

Kongpob opens his eyes and sees the once-maroon jacket is now blue. Arthit lifts it up and tries it on. "Do I look like I'm from another university?"

Kongpob just chuckles. Arthit can really be a kid at times.

Arthit takes off the jacket and rests it on the bed again. "Do it again. This time, I'll hold your wrist instead."

Kongpob nods and closes his eyes once more. Arthit, as he has mentioned, holds him on his wrist. Kongpob lets his magick hover over the jacket, and when he opens his eyes, the jacket is now green.

"Green looks cool," Arthit comments. "One more."

This time, Arthit holds his shoulder instead.

Kongpob obliges and does his thing once more.

"I don't think there's an engineering school that uses a yellow jacket," he hears from his side. He opens his eyes and now sees Arthit's jacket butter yellow.

"Why yellow?"

Kongpob raises his shoulders as he doesn't have any other answer. Arthit rolls his eyes and removes his hand from Kongpob's shoulder. He steps extra closer to Kongpob, only their forearms touching each other.

"Let's try it this way," Arthit says.

"P', are you sure? I don't want to destroy your—"

"You won't. I trust you."

Kongpob lets out another sigh, and Arthit minces another step to ensure their skins are still touching.

"Do it."

Kongpob already has this memorized. He closes his eyes, hovers his hand over the jacket, and lets his energy flow.

"Pink?!"

Kongpob opens his eyes and meets his pink creation. "Why? I like pink. You also like pink, like pink milk, right?"

Kongpob is right, but Arthit still frowns. His workshop jacket doesn't look good when pink.

"Now, what's next?"

Arthit keeps his eyes at him as he takes a little step away.

"Are you sure about this, P'?"

"You already asked that earlier, and yes, I am."

"But you're not touching me!"

Arthit sighs. "We need to test how far we can go. And I'm not even that far! I'm still right beside you. I just won't touch you."

"I'm just worried."

"If you fuck this up, we can just fix it later, all right?"

Arthit is serious, and he's right. If they wouldn't try, they wouldn't know. So Kongpob nods and readies himself. Arthit, by his side, makes sure he's as close as possible without touching him.

"Now," Arthit whispers.

Kongpob is a fast learner. He's done it four times within the last 15 minutes. All he has to do is to repeat every step he's made, and so he does.

Closed eyes.

Hovered hand.

Energy flowing.

He waits. He and Arthit wait, but nothing is happening. He opens his eyes and adds his other hand, pushing his energy through them. Arthit carefully watches the distance between them. Shaking his hands over the jacket, Kongpob tries it again, but still, it's not working.

But despite it not working, he can feel it inside him. It's boiling and thundering. It wants to break free. He just needs to push it out.

He now closes his eyes, forcing the force out of his body.

Then, finally, something changes—he can feel it moving inside him.

It's strange, smooth and powerful at the same time. Kongpob thought without Arthit's touch, it wouldn't work, but he can feel it through his veins now.

Arthit smiles as he sees the Kongpob's determination and shaking hands. He knew he could do it even without him.

But Kongpob's magick is too powerful when ungrounded by him. It's uncontrollable, unpredictable.

A huge beam of light comes out of Kongpob's palm.

It's hot. No, it's too hot.

"Kongpob!"

Kongpob opens his eyes and sees what he's doing. The jacket on the bed catches fire, and smoke comes out of the bed.

Arthit is quick to hold Kongpob to help him control his magick, but even with his hand touching Kongpob's arm, the beam of light coming out of Kongpob's palm remains flowing.

"P'Arthit! I don't know what to do!"

Arthit moves his hand closer to Kongpob's hands, to his arm, but it still does nothing. With his hands this close, he can feel the heat coming from Kongpob's hands.

"P'Arthit! I can't stop it!"

His jacket is now completely ashed, and Kongpob's bed is starting to catch fire. If he wouldn't act now, their whole room would burn.

So he does what he thinks he should and holds the back of Kongpob's hand.

As he has expected, it's hot, too hot. But the burning sensation feels welcome, like the heat belongs to him. He lets out more of his courage and puts his palm against Kongpob's.

He's essentially blocking Kongpob's magick now, but he's not being hurt by it.

"Kongpob! Stop it!"

With all his might and with Arthit's hand pressed against his, Kongpob tries to contain his magick. He grits his teeth as he exerts his most effort, which results in an explosion of some sort.

His hands let out a bright beam, the brightest they've seen today. A globe of energy pushes them off their feet, and they land their bodies flat on the floor.

"Kong, are you okay?" Arthit checks him first. When Kongpob nods, he runs toward the fire extinguisher to put out the remaining fire on the bed.

His jacket is gone, and there's only a little "bed" left from Kongpob's bed. It now has a huge burned crater, suggesting it's unusable now.

"You can fix this, right?" Arthit asks Kongpob. He comes closer to him to help him up, and when Kongpob is on his feet, that's when he realizes the damage he has done.

"I know I couldn't do it," he whispers.

Arthit scratches his head. He knows it's his fault. If he didn't force Kongpob to do it, this wouldn't happen. "Kong... I'm sorry for pushing you."

Kongpob turns to him and shakes his head. "It's not your fault."

Arthit should be eased by Kongpob's answer, but he couldn't help but feel guilty. He puts his hand on Kongpob's shoulder and squeezes it. "Let me help you."

He, then, lowers his hand to reach for Kongpob's hand. "We need to fix this before the landlady finds out. Somebody might smell the smoke."

Arthit is right. People might discover what happened to Kongpob's bed (and Arthit's now completely vanished jacket), and they need to cover it up.

"Fix your bed. I will hold your hand," Arthit says.

Arthit and Kongpob are confident that this plan will work. There should be any problem. He's there with Kongpob, holding Kongpob's hand for real. Kongpob's magick should work as it should.

But they couldn't be more wrong.

~

"Are you sure about this, P'? I can sleep on the floor."

Arthit rolls his eyes. "And do you think I will let you sleep on the floor? No. We can fit here," Arthit answers as he presses his body against the wall so his bed can accommodate Kongpob.

Kongpob obliges. If ever, it would be his first time to sleep on the floor, so he's glad Arthit offered his bed. They weren't able to fix his bed, and Arthit's jacket? Arthit has already accepted that he has to continue the semester with just four jackets.

Arthit theorized that since Kongpob did the damage, he couldn't fix it. However, Kongpob said that mustn't be the case since he's able to fix whatever he's done before with no problems. Instead, he thought he already depleted his magick for today—he's done a lot of little color-changing tricks, and a lot of his magick spilled when he made his failed attempt to use it without Arthit.

Maybe, he needs a rest.

And tonight, he will do it on Arthit's bed.

"The landlady didn't give me any extra bed sheet, so we have to share," Arthit says.

Kongpob lies beside him. Good thing his pillow was salvaged. "It's all right. Sorry if I—"

"I told you not to apologize anymore. What happened already happened. We can try again tomorrow if you can fix it, but tonight, let's just rest."

Kongpob is about to respond to Arthit when he notices his eyes are already closed.

Arthit's right. They're tired. They should rest, but Kongpob's mind cannot, not now that a lot of things are going on in it.

Arthit's face remains calm despite the troubles they encountered today. It's as if everything went into plan, as if everything is in place. Kongpob doesn't know that even though they made a mess out of his bed, that they almost burned their room, Arthit feels content.

How wouldn't he? He's in bed with Kongpob now.

Kongpob doesn't notice he's been staring at Arthit's face for too long, not until Arthit breaks the silence.

"Go to sleep, Kongpob."

It took Arthit an ample amount of courage to say that. He's aware Kongpob has been staring at him the whole time. The stare locked him—it made him conscious of how his face might look like, how he might be breathing too heavily. But he realized there's nothing to be conscious of anymore. This is Kongpob. They might have known each other for a few weeks only, but they've been seeing each other so often; Arthit even spends more time with him than his friends, and he knows Kongpob's biggest secret.

"Go to sleep, Kongpob," so he says.

Kongpob answers him with silence. Arthit's about to peek if Kongpob's already asleep when he feels Kongpob's skin touching his pinky finger, poking him.

He opens his eyes and finds Kongpob with eyes closed. But Kongpob isn't asleep. His pinky finger keeps on lingering around Arthit's hands, waiting for something to happen.

"Kong, are you okay?" Arthit asks, voice soft and worried.

Kongpob slowly opens his eyes and nods.

"Do you need to hold my hand?"

He lifts his head once but takes it back and shakes his head. "I don't, but... but I want to."

It's now Arthit's turn to respond to him with silence.

Arthit isn't sure what's going on in Kongpob's mind, and if he's going to be honest, he doesn't know what's going on in his own mind too, as he slowly opens his palm, inviting Kongpob in.

Kongpob grabs the given opportunity and entwines their fingers together.

They're both unsure what's happening, and they don't want to check each other's faces. They just leave their eyes closed, feeling each other's presence as if it's their first time doing this. But if they would check each other's look, they'd see how both of them are smiling.

How both of them obviously want this.

Kongpob didn't completely tell the truth when Arthit asked if he needs to hold his hand.  
  


He doesn't need to, but right now, he _needs_ to _._


	19. Across

Arthit opens his eyes, too early for him, the next morning wondering why his palm feels wet. He turns his head at his side and comes face-to-face with the guy beside him, and in slow thoughts, it hits him that he slept while holding Kongpob’s hand, that Kongpob slept with him.

And while Kongpob’s decision to invade his sleeping space was initially because of necessity, Arthit can’t help but wonder what they are now, what he is to Kongpob.

Friends do not hold each other’s hands when sleeping.

Surely, they’re more than friends.

Arthit still feels sleepy. He wants to stir around because his position pushes him to the wall, but he can’t because he might wake up Kongpob. He's stuck, basically pinned against the wall, while staring at his junior.

“Good morning, P’,” Kongpob suddenly greets him, eyes still closed. This startles Arthit, and he almost let go of Kongpob’s hand.

Kongpob answers Arthit's unspoken question when he pulls their hands together close to him. Finally, he opens his eyes. He smiles. “You were staring at me while I’m sleeping,” Kongpob tells him.

“Wha—” Arthit turns his head towards the ceiling, a tad too late. “What are you saying? I wasn’t!”

Kongpob is ready for an early-morning non-sense banter with the guy that, he now admits, makes his heart flutter, and Arthit, though faking he’s annoyed, is all in for it too, but to their surprise, they hear knocks on their door.

“Isn’t it too early for a visitor?” Kongpob asks.

“I’m actually surprised somebody’s visiting us,” Arthit mutters.

Reluctant, Kongpob slides off from Arthit’s hold and gets up. Arthit’s hand suddenly feels empty. He occupies it with the bed sheet that was once under Kongpob, attempting to fix it just in case their early visitor decides to get inside.

He’s half-slumped in a funny position when Kongpob hurriedly gets inside.

“P’! It’s Sun!”

Arthit’s ears ring upon hearing the name. Why in the world would that bloke visit their room at this hour?

“He won’t go away and wants to talk to me! I told him to wait outside! We need to fix my bed!”

“Can you fix it now?!”

“I’m not sure!” Kongpob’s feet tremors. “But I won’t risk it. What if I burn it again? Or turn it into an elephant or something?”

“Why will you turn it into an elephant? But…” Arthit immediately stands up and uncovers his own bed, moving the cover to Kongpob’s burnt bed to hide the result of yesterday’s experiment. “Help me.”

Kongpob quickly gets the other end of the bedsheet and tucks it under the mattress.

“Looks good?” Arthit asks.

Kongpob nods and quickly goes back to the door, opening it and invites his friend in.

“Morning, P’Arthit.” Sun greets and _wai_ s to him, though his haughty smirk is still on his lips. He notices the coverless bed of Arthit, though it has two pillows, one of which obviously belongs to the other bed.

“We were cleaning up,” Arthit lies. “Why are you here, 0026?”

Sun decidedly ignores him and his obvious lie and faces Kongpob. “So, Kong… I moved to a new room. I really didn’t like my roommate before…” He side-eyes Arthit. “...and luckily, I was able to find this new room. It’s actually— I’ll show you.” 

Sun grabs Kongpob’s wrist and pulls him toward the porch.

“It’s actually right there.” Sun points at the room across the other building. “The occupants transferred to another university, so I grabbed the opportunity and took the vacancy. What do you think?”

Kongpob eyes him. “It’s good. But why are you asking me what I think?”

Sun smiles. “What do you think if you’d move in with me?”

Kongpob now gapes at him.

“Why’s your reaction like that?” Sun asks. “I thought you don’t like it here? You don’t like your roommate, right?” He doesn’t really care if Arthit hears him.

Kongpob turns to look at Arthit, and yes, with Arthit’s head low and battling brows, it’s obvious he’s heard them.

“What are you saying?! That was before. You already know P’Arthit and I are already okay now.”

“Just okay? Or something more than that?”

“What? What are you saying?”

“Nevermind.”

“Sure,” Kongpob steps out of the porch and back inside the room. He goes straight to the door and opens it for Sun. “If there’s nothing else, we’ll like to continue cleaning.”

Sun exhales loudly. “Fine, I’ll leave… but my offer still stands. Let me know if and when you’ll want to move.”

Kongpob stays silent and holds the door for him. Sun goes out, and Kongpob shuts the door without saying another word to him. He goes back to Arthit, who’s mood is obviously changed by Sun’s presence.

“P’Arthit, I’m sorry about him.”

Arthit finally raises his head and fakes a smile. “It’s all right. He’s right, anyway... in a way.”

“P’, please don’t say that.”

Arthit fakes another smile and stands up. “I’ll buy our breakfast,” he says before moving quickly to the bathroom to wash his face and hurriedly going out the door without asking what Kongpob wants to eat.

He just wants to get out of there.

He knows he didn’t treat Kongpob well the first time, but he wants to bury that memory. He was bad, and he was embarrassed, ashamed of it. While he knows Kongpob has forgiven him, he’s still insecure about the fact that someone out there might be better for him.

And maybe that someone just asked Kongpob to move with him.

Arthit sighs. He reaches their usual breakfast place and orders their usual buy.

But while he waits for his order, his attention gets grabbed by a black cat on one of the tables, and it’s seemingly watching him. For some reason, the cat eases him. Arthit finds the cat cute—it has one blue eye and another eye that has the color of the sun. Arthit starts to wonder where it’s from. Nevertheless, he starts petting it, though he’s unsure if the cat likes it.

“I didn’t know you got a new pet, Auntie,” he tells the store-owner.

“Pet?” The woman turns around and sees the black cat sitting on one of her store’s tables. “That’s not my pet!” She takes out her broom and swats the cat away from her store.

Arthit regrets telling the store-owner about the cat. Good thing it didn’t get hurt.

"Dirty street cats," the store-owner mutters. “Anyway, here are your doughnuts, nong. I added some extra because I know your roommate loves them."

Arthit thanks her and smiles, but while walking back, he can’t help but wonder until when he’ll be able to buy food for the both of them.

~

Namtan stepped outside the dorm of her classmate. The allnighter they pulled should be worth it and give them high marks. For now, she wanted to go home and finally get some sleep.

She and her mom have reached an agreement that she should not be required to attend “those weird cultic meetings,” as what she calls them, because she needs to focus on her studies. Her mom agreed as long as she’d maintain her scholarship. This works for her. That’s why she’s doing everything just to stay away from those gatherings, even though it means she has to overcompensate in terms of her studies and neglect her sleep.

She was about to book a motortaxi when she recognized a woman she’s sure she’s seen before.

She’s one of them, the witches.

The woman was hiding behind a stall and was obviously watching someone. Namtan closed the motortaxi booking app and took a closer look.

She stepped toward the woman and upon doing so, she got a glimpse of what the woman was watching. And it’s not a _what_. It’s a _who._

And she knew who it was.

“Oon,” she whispered. Arthit has just reached a food stall, and he was seemingly ordering, probably his breakfast. She takes a look back at the woman, who’s now walking closer to Arthit’s position.

This didn't feel right. Why would a witch watch Arthit like that?

Namtan came closer and saw Arthit petting a cat, a black cat, and she’s sure that’s the high priestess’ cat.

She’s starting to panic. Why is Arthit being surrounded by witchly creatures? At first, she thought the coven was just a group of weirdos that like dark things and making jokes about impaling dolls and people. But when she heard that they are willing to kill a person, a person of their own, she realized they can be very dangerous.

Arthit might be in danger, and she needed to do something.

Arthit started to leave the stall and was about to enter an alley. From afar, Namtan saw another woman watching her friend, and she was approaching close. The first woman took her steps to follow him too.

Namtan needed to act fast. She didn’t know what to do, but she needed to act or else, her friend might be the coven’s victim. Maybe she should have paid attention to her mother while she’s teaching her how to use magick, but until now, she can’t do anything more than lifting a teaspoon from a table. With nothing else to do, she resorted to what she always did whenever seeing Arthit:

“Oon!” She shouted.

~

“Namtan?” Arthit answers after turning around. “What are you doing here?”

“I…” She looks around to see if the women are still lurking, but they’re suddenly gone. She doesn’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing. Either way, they need to get out of there. “...I was in the neighborhood. I finished a project with my classmates, and I was about to go home when I saw you,” she speaks fast.

“Oh. So, are you going home now? Motortaxis are rare here.”

“Me?” She looks around again. “I think no. Can you bring me to your room? Please, I need to tell you something.”

Arthit’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. His friend is acting very strange right now. “Can’t you just tell it here?”

“No. I am… hungry, so I need to eat breakfast too. Right.” She smiles. “What did you buy? Ooh Chinese doughnuts! Let’s eat them in your room.” She drags him by the wrist.

“B-but I think we need to buy more because Kong— because my roommate will have to eat too.”

“Nevermind, I don’t want to eat. Let’s just go!”

~

Kongpob remains seated on the part of his bed that was left unburnt. He thought he and Arthit are going well forward now. If not because of Sun, he and Arthit could still be holding hands in bed right now. They could be cuddling right now. And maybe, he would have already admitted his feelings by now.

Or Arthit would have already admitted his.

Kongpob sighs. There’s no point in dwelling in it. Nothing of the sort happened because his friend barged in.

What made Sun think he’d move with him? Kongpob stands from his bed and takes a peek at the room across the other building. The curtains are drawn, and Sun is probably out. Kongpob hopes he didn’t visit. He hopes he didn’t come at all and gave him a choice. Because Kongpob hates choosing.

Even though he already knows what he wants, he feels like making a choice will make somebody feel bad. He himself will feel bad. He sighs.

He grabs his phone and is about to text Sun when he hears the door clicking.

“I’m back,” Arthit’s toneless voice says.

Kongpob turns around to face Arthit, but he gets face-to-face not only with Arthit but also with a young lady.

She’s wide-eyed as if she saw a ghost.

Kongpob has no clue, but he offers her a smile.

The lady keeps gaping at him and mutters, “you.” She moves her eyes to Arthit. “Now, it makes sense,” she mutters again.

Arthit faces her after setting down the food he bought. “What do you mean? Oh. This is Kongpob, my roommate and junior."

"Hi," Kongpob greets her.

“And Kong, this is Namtan, my friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this part is all over the place, but it is what it is. sorry for the late update. even though quarantined, I'm still working from home :((
> 
> thank you for staying with me!


	20. The Anomaly

Days ago, the coven showed Namtan a picture of a young man. Namtan didn't pay attention to him initially, not until she heard the coven's plans of killing him if things won't go their way.

Like any decent human being, she was disturbed by it.

But eventually, she forgot about him.

She only got reminded of him today.

As she comes face-to-face with the young man.

"Namtan?" Arthit waves his hand in front of her face. "What's wrong? Do you know him?"

Namtan shakes her head in an instant, though she's half-lying. Yes, Arthit, she kind of knows Kongpob. The sisters of the coven want him dead. But no, she doesn't really know him.

"I need some air." Namtan fans herself.

"Oh. Sorry if our room is hot."

Kongpob scoots near Arthit and whispers, "I don't think our room is hot."

Arthit scratches his head and opens the door to the porch and leads Namtan to it so they can have some of Bangkok's "fresh" air. Before Arthit closes the door, he asks Kongpob to start eating breakfast. "I also bought you coffee. 1 sugar 2 creams, right?"

Hearing this comes as a surprise for Namtan. Arthit was never this thoughtful, even to her.

"So what is it about?" Arthit closes the door and faces her.

"That guy, do you really know him?"

Arthit thinks there are many ways to answer that question, but he resorts to another question. "Uh... what do you mean?"

"Since when did you know him?"

"Since the start of this sem. He just moved in. I talked about him before, my new roommate?"

Namtan vaguely remembers anything, but she lets it pass. She needs to know if Arthit knows what he's gotten himself into.

"So, that guy..."

"Kongpob."

"Yes... him... how is he?"

Arthit's eye squints at the question.

"I mean, is he nice... to you?"

Arthit doesn't know how to answer because his friend is really being weird right now. "Where you going at, Nam?"

"Just answer the question, Oon!"

This startles Arthit so he lets out an answer. "Yes. Yes, he's been nice to me."

And Namtan doesn't fail to notice the slight pink blush that spreads on Arthit's face. "Oh no."

"What?"

"You like him?!"

And Arthit doesn't answer.

"You like him?!"

Namtan was half-expecting for a different answer, but she sees Arthit nodding. She covers her gaping mouth because really, this is too much information in one morning.

She slaps Arthit's arm and shouts at his face. "I thought I'm your best friend! Why am I just learning this now?!"

Now that's the Namtan Arthit knows. He just scratches his head and gives Namtan an embarrassed smile. Maybe he should have told her earlier, really, because of all the people he knows, Namtan that would completely understand him. He knows she would be happy for him.

But Namtan, right now, is far from looking happy.

And Arthit didn't expect this at all, which scares him.

"Namtan," he starts with his soft voice. "I know what you're thinking."

She just stares at him.

"I'm still the old Arthit... even if I'm like this. Sorry if I didn't tell you soon—"

"It's not that, Oon. I don't have problems with you liking a guy. It's just that... oh god this is hard to explain." She fans herself. As she tries to face the wide sky to catch some air, she notices a black figure moving across the other building. She turns toward it and sees _the_ black cat. 

She's so sure it's _it_.

"Oh no." She grabs Arthit's wrist again and pulls him inside the room, and Kongpob, biting into his doughnut, doesn't fail to notice their linked arms. He quickly looks away, pretending he didn't see it.

"Who's living across that building?" She asks Arthit.

Kongpob turns upon hearing the question. "It's my—"

"It's my junior," Arthit answers. "Yes, I overheard you earlier," he tells Kongpob, referring to Sun's invitation for Kongpob to move with him. This is a whole can of worm Arthit doesn't want to open since this morning, especially with his friend acting so strange right now.

Kongpob feels guilt again as he chews on his breakfast.

"That junior of yours, do you know him well?" Namtan continues interrogating.

"What's this about, Nam?"

"Just answer me, Oon! I saw this... this black cat there, and maybe... Ugh! I don't know what to say! Just answer my question!"

"What's going on with you, Nam? You're acting really weird since I saw you! What's wrong?"

Right, these two guys cannot understand her because she's freaking out. "Fine. I'll tell you everything."

"You," she points at Kongpob, "what's your name again?"

"His name is Kongpob," Arthit answers for him.

"Kongpob, how well does Oon know you?"

"Oon?" Kongpob is confused.

"Arthit."

"Namtan..." Arthit inserts himself.

"Please, just answer my question." She crosses her arms.

Kongpob slowly turns to Arthit, who also appears very confused at what's happening. "He knows me well enough," Kongpob says.

"Well enough?"

"Well, he kind of... really knows me." He side-eyes Arthit.

Namtan hums. "Really knows you...?"

Kongpob closes his eyes. "He knows my secrets."

Namtan's eyes light up. This is what she wants to hear. "All of it?"

There's a long pause that both Namtan and Arthit wait to finish.

"All of it," Kongpob finally mutters.

Namtan heaves a sigh and sets herself on Arthit's bed, arms relaxing to her sides. The two boys walk closer to her, still with question marks on their heads.

"I wasn't sure if I should speak about this to you, or with Arthit here, or to the both of you, that's why I needed to be sure first... that Arthit is aware of... _you_."

"Nam, really, what is this about?"

"I know he's a witch," she tells him straight.

Kongpob feels petrified at that exact moment, his heart racing as he starts sweating cold. Arthit, at his side, feels the same, though he isn't the one being accused. Kongpob remains frozen beside him, so he has to do something.

"And don't dare deny it," Namtan speaks again when he sees Arthit is about to open his mouth. "There's no point. I saw your picture during the gathering."

This breaks the ice that is Kongpob. "The gathering? Of what? Of witches?"

"Kongpob!" Arthit's eyes widen at how Kongpob easily gave it away.

"She knows something, P'."

Arthit then turns to Namtan. "Wait, but how did you know all this?" he asks her.

Namtan realizes she didn't think this through. Warning them means she might eventually out herself too. "Yes, gathering of witches... or whatever, but it isn't important who they are... for now. And it's not important why I know all this. All you need to know is that you're in danger."

"What?!?" Arthit and Kongpob ask in unison.

"Oon, I saw two witches following you outside. That's why I called your name—they were clearly after you."

"P'Arthit," Kongpob whispers, hand reaching for Arthit's.

Namtan witnesses this but ignores it and continues, "I noticed this before, in your eyes, when we last met. I was so confused because that time, I thought there's no way, but now, it all makes sense."

Arthit stays silent but asks her a million questions through his eyes.

"You're connected to him, aren't you?"

Arthit nods, eyes still fixed at her. "Is that why they are after me?"

"Probably," Namtan mutters. "And the cat that you were petting? That's the witch leader's cat... or whatever."

"The cute cat?"

"It has a blue and a yellow eye, right? I know that cat. And you..." She tilts her head at Kongpob, trying hard to remember his name. "What's your name again?"

"Kongpob," Arthit repeats.

"Yes, Kongpob. You're wanted. They showed your picture to all the witches. They call you _the_ anomaly."

"The anomaly?"

"I don't exactly know why you're an anomaly... but I have an idea."

"Why?" Arthit asks.

"I think I have an idea too," Kongpob admits.

"It's because—"

"I'm a guy," Kongpob continues. "When my grandma talks about witches, I figured they're all female."

"Right." Namtan responds. "That's what I think too. I saw no other male witch during the meeting."

"Nam, are you a witch too?" Arthit asks.

Namtan feels like she can't really escape the question, so she gives him a short nod just to stop him from asking. "But this isn't about me. This is about you and your friend."

Arthit heaves a loud sigh. "Why do they want him and me?"

Namtan knows the answer, but she doesn't know if it will be good to say that the coven will eventually want him dead. "I can't speak about it now. But you, you two, need to be very careful. The person living across the other building? They might be involved too."

"0026? But he is a guy too."

"He is?"

"Yes. So he can't be a witch," Arthit says.

"Unless...," Kongpob speaks "...he's an anomaly like me."  
  
  
  
  
  


~

It's the beginning of a new week, but everything that happened the previous day won't leave Kongpob's head. That afternoon, after Namtan worriedly left their dorm room, after Arthit walked her down the building, minutes too long for Kongpob to simply ignore, Kongpob asked Arthit if he should move out.

_"You're in danger because of me. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."_

_"Are you listening to yourself, Kongpob? We are connected," Arthit answers, voice slightly angry. "What will happen if they show up and I'm not there with you?"_

Everything's a blur, but at one point, he's sure he suggested he'd move into Sun's dorm, saying it's better if they can spy on him. That suggestion, however, led to a stronger response from Arthit, though Kongpob isn't entirely sure if it's just because Arthit is worried that he'll be in danger or if it's about something else. Thinking about it now, the suggestion was really stupid, and Kongpob wants to smack himself for it. 

"What's up with you?" A voice says from his side.

"Sun," Kongpob greets him, though it sounds more like an acknowledgment of his name.

"Are you still mad at me?" Sun takes the seat beside him. As always, he and Kongpob are the earliest in their class.

Kongpob shakes his head. "Let's forget about it," he mutters.

Sun purses his lips. He sets his things and brings out a book before muttering, "My proposal still stands."

"I already gave you my answer," Kongpob says as he brings out his own book to distract himself from Sun.

Their class starts soon after their classmates fill in the room. Kongpob stays quiet the whole time, only parting his lips whenever Em asks him a question. There's nothing to tell anyway, though he won't deny his eyes always try to watch Sun, not because he changed his mind about his proposal, but because he's trying to find indications, any sign, that his friend has something extraordinary in him too.

Namtan warned him and Arthit about Sun. But even though he's not exactly in good terms with his friend right now, he's not entirely sure why he should be careful with him. If it's true that Sun is a witch too, then it doesn't make sense why the witches will ask him to keep him under his watch. If Sun is a witch too, he's a target, just like him.

"Walk home together?" Sun asks him after their last class, after bumping his elbow.

Two targets walking around the campus might not be the greatest idea, but Kongpob needs to confirm if what Namtan accuses Sun of is true.

So, even though the rational part of his mind says no, Kongpob grabs his bag and nods.   
  
  
  
  
  


~

"Why did you walk home with him?"

That's the question Kongpob instantly hears after opening the door to his dorm. Arthit is resting against their table, arms crossed.

"I see nothing wrong with that, P'. He's my classmate. And were _you_ watching me?" 

"You know he's not just your classmate," Arthit huffs, ignoring Kongpob's last question. He moves to his bed, but his gaze never leaves Kongpob.

"I'm aware of that, P'. I just want to confirm if he's really like me."

"Namtan said he might be dangerous! Are you out of your mind?"

"P'..." Kongpob reaches close to Arthit, opting to sit on the latter's bed even though they already fixed his bed the previous day. Kongpob rests his hand on Arthit's, a move he now knows Arthit is so weak against. "...sorry _na_."

Arthit glares at him and mumbles, "You're so unfair." He didn't intend for Kongpob to hear it, but Kongpob has been attentive to him lately, very attentive, so he didn't fail to catch it. 

There's a short pause, the two just staring at each other. Then, Kongpob finally smiles, and soon, Arthit follows.

Eventually, their worries fly out the window as they both get drowned by their own existence as they spend the night, like the other nights, together.

Kongpob appeases Arthit by promising not to be alone with Sun anymore, as long as Arthit won't go outside alone anymore. They really need to come up with a better plan, but this should work as of now. So tonight, even though they only need eight sticks of _moo yang_ from their favorite stall, both of them come to get them. 

After dinner, they allow each other to complete their homework before setting their beds. But when Kongpob is about to settle down, he can't help but feel something is wrong. His bed has been fixed since yesterday, but he still feels something is off. 

He tries to lie down and feel his surroundings, but really, something isn't sitting right.

So he gets up with his pillow and faces his roommate, who's looking confusedly at him.

"Please?" Kongpob asks, assuming Arthit completely understands his request.

And, of course, Arthit does. He wished it would happen. So he rolls closer to his wall to make space for Kongpob. "Turn off the lights before you go to bed." That's all he says, turning around to hide his smirk and blushing cheeks.

And Kongpob? He can't stop smiling.

But across the other building, Sun's glare intensifies as he rests his elbows on the railing of his porch, the back of his arms getting sore as he presses them more against the cold metal. 

The shadow he watches grows smaller, and the room in front of him gets dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i revised the shit out of this chapter yet i'm still not satisfied with it, but i have no another choice but to publish it since it's been more than two weeks dgdgadsdgdsdg 
> 
> take care and stay healthy, everyone!


	21. Mis-spellings

  
  
  
Kongpob sleeping in Arthit's bed–even though his own bed has been completely fixed since last Sunday–didn't stop that Monday night.

Every night after that, Kongpob stood beside Arthit's bed with his pillow tucked in his arms, waiting for Arthit to move so he would fit in the bed obviously intended for only one person.

Arthit didn't mind. He expected it every night. Even though he claims the role of being the head hazer and Kongpob the obedient junior during the day, when the evening comes, when they are within the bounds of the four walls of their room, they break free from the characters imposed on them. Within their walls, Kongpob is a witch boy starting to accept that he's having feelings with his roommate, and Arthit is his constant, who's waiting for something to happen because his heart is always about to explode every time Kongpob touches him.

They still haven't talked about what's going on between them. All they know is that these past few days, they are happy, and they've grown... together.

It's also a good thing that being smitten at each other helped them forget, even for a while, the dangers Namtan warned them about. Ignoring Sun is a conscious thing they'd only mutually agreed on, and they are both successful at it, so far.

On one of those nights, Kongpob kneels by his bed and pulls the wooden box under it. It's a bit dusty now since it hasn't been opened ever since the amulet incident, but Kongpob doesn't care. He feels like he needs to learn more about magick, about himself.

He skips the herbs his grandmother bottled for him and goes straight to the black book. And in there, through its pages, he learns the basics and complexities of magick.

In the introduction, he gets to learn that magick isn't knowledge and that it's closer to feelings and emotions. Upon reading the passage, Kongpob glances at Arthit, who's busy playing with his phone, and nods at himself, as if what the book has said makes complete sense.

Arthit notices Kongpob is looking at him, so he raises his eyebrows but receives no response. He gets off from his bed and joins Kongpob in reading. He's connected to him, after all, so maybe he should also join reading.

Upon turning another page, the two learn about the laws and limitations of magick, that magick cannot create life nor bring someone from the dead. Magick also can't make someone fall in love with someone, which relieves Arthit of the thought that Kongpob, in the past, had put a spell on him to make him feel this way.

The book also contains different kinds of spells and incantations, as well as curses and instructions for making potions. It's where they discover that there are spells for reheating your food, making every day feel like a Friday, and turning a cat into a human.

They also learn that potions are usually made of small reptile and amphibian parts and secretions, and that they taste nasty.

They read more about sorcery and potions that can make people think they are zoo animals until the deep of the night, only stopping when they reach the chapter about potions that require baby fingers as ingredients. When Kongpob lies beside Arthit on their now-shared bed, Arthit doesn't stop assuring him that he won't ever need to use such potions.

The next morning, Arthit wakes up to a smiling Kongpob. Arthit's throat closes up as he tries not to choke on how much that smile affects him.

Kongpob hears a strangled noise from his roommate, and he witnesses how he turns red as he moves his eyes to the ceiling. "Good morning, P'Arthit. Are you okay?" He half-teases.

"Go back to your bed!" Arthit says as he pushes Kongpob away.

Over breakfast, Kongpob proposes something that makes Arthit choke for the second time:

"You want to practice combat magick?!"

"I mean..." Kongpob stutters. "that's not a bad idea? What if I, we, would need it in the future. We don't know."

"You can't even use your magick alone."

"I know that. That's why I need to put more effort into practicing."

". . ."

"Will you help me, P'?"  
  
  
  
  
  


~

"Kongpob, watch out!" Arthit shouts as he pulls Kongpob out of the way of an incoming fireball.

"Tsk!"

"Kongpob, are you okay?!"

"I almost perfected it." Kongpob slumps his body and sits on the floor of the rooftop of their dorm.

"Are you sure about this? Maybe you need to practice small tricks first?"

"Like what, a rabbit in a hat?"

"I'm not joking, Kong."

Kongpob heaves a heavy sigh. "Fine. I'm also hungry anyway."

"Let's buy lunch?"

Kongpob scrunches his face. "Omelet again?"

"It's not my fault you only eat bland food."

Kongpob looks away and back to his hands. "I have an idea."  
  
  
  
  
  


~

"Kongpob, control your knife!" Arthit screams as he dodges a knife flying toward his foot.

"I'm sorry, P'! Are you okay?"

"You know I can cook, right?! I'll just make your _cao pad_!"

"Sorry, P', but I need to practice." Kongpob grabs his hand again and uses his hand to telepathically move the knife from the floor to the kitchen sink. With Arthit's ability to ground Kongpob's magickal abilities, Kongpob is able to wash the knife so he can try cooking hands-free again.

"Look, P'!"

"Arthit emerges from the pillow he uses to cover himself and witnesses how the things in their little kitchen work untouched. Chopping, washing, and steaming are done all at the same time without any of them moving. He pans at his side and sees Kongpob happily watching the scene, hand not even raised to control the kitchenware.

Arthit grips tighter at his hand, eyeing the knife that almost stabbed his foot a little while ago.

"It won't hurt you, P'. I won't let anything hurt you," Kongpob says softly.

Arthit knows Kongpob means it as it is, but he feels like there's more to it. He turns toward Kongpob, thinking he'd find something in it, but he ends up getting lost in his eyes.

Kongpob, admittedly feeling the same, softens his stare and dares to move his face closer to Arthit's. When he sees Arthit not backing down and away, he moves closer, closer until he closes his eyes. His lips are starting to aim for a kiss when Arthit suddenly speaks:

"Cat!"

"Wha— cat?"

Arthit points at the porch door where a black cat stands by.

Kongpob's kitchenware drops at the counter, but they don't startle the cat. It just stares at them as they stare back.

"Is that the cat Khun Namtan was talking about?"

Arthit arranges himself and gets up from the bed they're sitting on, approaching the feline in question. "How did you get here?" Arthit asks as he sits in front of it, only to be left alone as the cat steps into their room.

"P'Arthit, isn't that a witch's cat?" Kongpob asks, backing away further into the room.

"We're not sure about that yet. It can't be the only black cat in Bangkok."

"But its eyes. They're the same as how Khun Namtan described them."

"He doesn't seem dangerous to me," Arthit says as he carries the cat.

The cat, however, apparently wants to prove him wrong as it scratches his face. Arthit screams and loses his hold of the cat, which runs toward their little kitchen.

"P'Arthit! Are you okay?"

"Yes. Aw. Yes, I'm fine." Arthit touches his face, and his fingers turn red with blood.

"You're bleeding! Come here. Do we have a first aid kit?"

"Probably at the lobby, but don't worry about this. It's just a scratch."

"I told you that cat is dangerous."

Both of them look at the cat, who's staring back at them from the foot of the kitchen counter.

Kongpob stands up and grabs a broom from the porch.

"What are you doing, Kong?"

"Getting rid of the evil creature!"

"What evil creature?" Arthit stands up and on Kongpob's way. "He's just a cat!"

_Meow!_

Both turn to the cat, which just meowed.

"Maybe he's hungry," Arthit says, moving closer to the cat again.

"P'Arthit, it might hurt you again."

But Arthit ignores him. Instead, he murmurs some sounds that Kongpob hears as Arthit's small voice saying "are you hungry little kitty?" and "you're not evil, right?"

Kongpob rolls his eyes and goes back to the bed, hands still clutching on his broom. He sees Arthit aiming for the ingredients on the kitchen counter.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll just give him some of the shrimp for your _cao pad_."

"If you feed it, it will always come back here," Kongpob says.

"And what's wrong with that?" Arthit asks back, not facing him, hand offering a piece of cut shrimp to the cat. He's careful to not startle the cat or it might claw him again. He drops the food near him to let the cat feed on it.

But it just stares at him, which, if he's going to be honest, terrifies Arthit a little. Eventually, the cat bows to eat the food offered to it, and Arthit can breathe again. He stands up and goes back to the bed with Kongpob, who's still holding on to his broom.

"Can you put that down?"

"No," Kongpob answers. He gets shocked to see Arthit's face is still bleeding. "I'll go help you clean that up," he says before standing up.

But Arthit grabs his wrist, making Kongpob question what Arthit is into.

"You want to practice your abilities, right?"

"Yes?"

"Practice on me."

"Oh." Kongpob frowns. "No. I won't do that."

"Kongpob, you've been practicing with me since the beginning."

"But—"

"I trust you."

"But—" 

"And you told me you won't let anything hurt me, right?"

They are now staring at each other, both ignoring the blood dripping on Arthit's face. Kongpob nods and reaches for Arthit's right cheek. He cups it, wiping the blood with his thumb. Kongpob hovers his finger on the wound, and they both start feeling warmth.

He touches Arthit's face, and in one swipe, the wound is healed. It's not completely healed yet. Kongpob did enough just to close the wound, scared that if he'd put more magick into it, something would go wrong. At least it's dry now.

"I told you you can do it. Thank you."

Kongpob smiles at him and nods.

"When I was a kid, my mother would always kiss my wound whenever I'd get one. She said it would make it heal fast," Arthit says, though he doesn't know why.

"Can I?" Kongpob suddenly asks.

"What?"

Kongpob breathes in and speaks again. "Kiss it... so it will heal faster."

Arthit just looks straight at him as Kongpob gets his face closer. Why would Kongpob use that lame motherly method when he can simply use his abilities again? But Arthit forgets reason and rationality because, at that point, he wants it too. He nods, inviting Kongpob to come closer.

And Kongpob does. He kisses Arthit's cheek and keeps his lips there until Arthit pulls away.

Arthit's really red now, but this moment should not be wasted. He grabs Kongpob by the neck, which, for some reason, doesn't startle him. Kongpob gives him a signal to go and do what he wants.  
  
  


And so he does.


End file.
